How Long Does AAA Take to Respond to a Call?
Last Updated on December 7, 2023
If you have a roadside assistance plan with AAA, then you may be curious about average response times.
AAA responds to calls within 23 minutes, on average. Depending on your location and other factors, however, AAA could take significantly less or more time to respond to your call.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about AAA’s average call response times.
Key Takeaways:
- On average, AAA responds to roadside assistance calls within approximately 23 minutes, but the actual response time can vary significantly based on factors like location, weather, and service complexity.
- Response times are generally quicker in urban areas compared to rural regions, and they may be longer during weekends, holidays, or adverse weather conditions.
- AAA’s response times are influenced by the availability of technicians in your area and the type of service requested, with simpler services typically resulting in shorter wait times compared to complex ones. It’s advisable to contact AAA for specific information about response times in your local area.
AAA Responds Within 23 Minutes, on Average
According to our research, AAA responds to calls within 23 minutes, on average.
From the moment you contact AAA to the moment a technician arrives at your location, you can expect to wait around 23 minutes.
However, actual response times vary widely. If there’s a blizzard in your area, for example, then it could take AAA 10 hours or more to respond to your location. If it’s a slow day with no nearby accidents and you live in a major city, a technician could reach you within 10 minutes.
Some cities also have chronically poor AAA response times, while others have surprisingly good response times. Some cities have plenty of technicians ready to work at all hours, while others are underserved by tow truck drivers, locksmiths, and other operators.
Contact AAA to Ask About Current Wait Times
The best way to check wait times in your local area is to contact AAA. AAA can explain wait times in your local area for the type of service you requested.
Even if you don’t make a roadside assistance request, you can check local wait times.
Or, you could make a roadside assistance request and then cancel that request if the wait time is too long. Generally, AAA lets you cancel roadside assistance requests without penalty, assuming the technician has not already been dispatched to your location.
Factors that Impact AAA Response Times
Some of the factors that impact AAA response times include:
Urban vs. Rural Areas: Sparely populated areas have fewer technicians than densely populated areas. Generally, you’ll have shorter AAA response times in cities than in rural areas.
Holidays & Weekends: AAA call volume rises significantly on weekends. It also spikes on holidays. Plus, certain roadside assistance providers may not work on holidays, making average call response times even worse.
Number of Available Technicians: AAA partners with roadside assistance providers nationwide – including local tow truck operators and vehicle locksmiths. Depending on your location, there could be hundreds of technicians nearby – or only one or two. If you live in a sparsely populated area, then you’ll have longer average response times than someone living in a densely populated area.
Type & Complexity of Service Requested: If you need a simple battery jumpstart, then AAA could dispatch any local technician to your location, reducing your average response time. However, if you need winching of a heavy vehicle, then you could need a heavy-duty vehicle at your location. Heavy-duty service and other complex service will increase average AAA response times.
Local Weather Factors: AAA has longer response times on an icy winter day than on a warm summer day. Local weather severely impacts AAA response times. During a blizzard, many drivers may need towing or other roadside service, for example. Or, an ice storm in a city could cause tow truck drivers to be backed up for days as they tow vehicles out of ditches.
Insufficient Providers in Your Area: Some areas have bad AAA response times at any time of day or night simply because they don’t have enough providers. There may not be enough tow truck drivers in your area to address the population, for example. In some areas, drivers regularly face response times of four hours or more every time they contact AAA.
Location of Service Request: Do you need to jumpstart your vehicle at the parking lot of a remote hiking trail? Or are you requesting service at a parking lot in a mall in a busy city? AAA compensates roadside assistance providers based on your location, but not all drivers want to drive far outside the city for an appointment.
Generally, AAA tries to respond to calls within 30 minutes. However, based on the above factors, you could wait anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 hours for your service request.
Final Word
AAA generally arrives within 30 minutes of your call. On average, it takes AAA 23 minutes to respond to your call.
Actual response times could vary. You might wait just five to 10 minutes for some calls, for example. Or, you could wait hours in a remote area or when dealing with a local environmental emergency.
Contact AAA today to speak with a roadside assistance professional who can provide a more accurate estimate of local wait times.
