On our last trip I ended up in Collarenabri, NSW, quite by accident, semi-concious and in need of an Ambo.
I was admitted to the local Health Care Centre (Hospital), diagnosed with an acute Viral / Bacterial chest / lung infection and kept there for 10 days.
As an aside, whilst in there, I was also diagnosed as an "un-discovered) diabetic, and treated accordingly.
(This a fabulous facility, beautiful caring staff and, believe it or not, real "Home-Cooked" meals. They gave my wife a bed in the same room that I was in, fed her the same as I was, we had a private en-suite, and, to top it all off, they even did our laundry for us.
To the point of this note....The Doctor directed me NOT to drive, and if I had tried to he was going to call the local police and have my licence confiscated. My wife does not drive my vehicle, and has no knowledge of towing either.
We live in Sydney and were left to contemplate how we were going to get home. Nearest towns with public buses / trains were Walgett or Moree. Moree the only one with trains, some 130 Klms away, and NO public transport, ONLY TAXI's. If we took that option we were left then with getting our Van / Tug back home....Quoted between $4 - $5000, being the cheapest at that time.
Final decision was we had some family members drive from Sydney to Collarenabri to drive our rig, and us back home.
I checked with NRMA, with whom I have a Platinum Membership, (for 45 years), Our comprehensive Insurance, and in both cases they only cover a broken down vehicle, not a broken down driver. A check with our Private health Insurance gave a similar result. WE WERE STUCK.
So, what advice might I be given for future travels, apart from teach the wife to drive (not an option), avoid isolated country towns, or don't get sick.
we are now at home, recovering and prepareing another trip.
That is a very good point you have made, I am pretty certain out RAC insurance has a bonus or something that can be used for such contingencies. I will check for my self.
Your Platinum membership is a measure of your length of membership not your level of cover or roadside assistance.
It may give you discounted membership.
Top level of roadside assistance with NRMA is Premium Plus.
I'm with RACQ Ultimate and one benefit used to give cover in your situation. Your post has pushed me to check if that's still offered and if it's still free. Maybe NRMA has a similar deal.
I can see why you might think membership level was automatically linked to membership type and degree of benefit. It's unfortunate you have found otherwise.
