The touring helper - or how people tried to help themselves 50 years ago
10/28/2014
In the early sixties, the Touring Club had exactly two breakdown service vehicles. In the event of a breakdown, a lot of time could pass before help finally arrived. To improve this situation, the Touring Club Zurich introduced the "Touring Helper".
These were members of the club who were specially trained to carry out camaraderie services in the event of accidents and breakdowns. In addition, the volunteers, who had to have a good automotive reputation, received emergency assistance equipment worth 900 francs. This included overalls, a first-aid kit, camera, fire extinguisher, tool bag and chalk.
AR 9/1961 reported that the helpers were trained in a one-day course, as they had a considerable responsibility if they were the first to arrive at an accident or breakdown. 200 such touring helpers were to be trained at the time, but whether this happened and what became of the idea is beyond the author's knowledge.
