SALEM — The police department has entered into an agreement with AAA of the Merrimack Valley that will allow the auto club to park one or two tow trucks at the police station — and save the town several thousand dollars a year in towing charges.
The deal, which goes into effect Monday, allows AAA to park at the station between calls, although not overnight. That will give the club a central location from which it can respond to calls in the greater Salem area, police Capt. Shawn Patten said.
Patten estimated AAA members should only have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a service call as a result of the deal. He estimated the current wait can be up to an hour. AAA has approximately 10,000 members in Salem and responds to between 9,500 and 10,000 calls a year in town.
In addition to faster service, the town will get a discount on towing for any town-owned vehicles, a discount Patten said should save between $2,000 and $4,000 a year.
"What we're getting is a better service, and a better response time for roadside assistance in the greater Salem area," Patten said.
Having those tow trucks work from the police station also should cut down on man-hours for police who typically have to wait for a tow truck to arrive when a motorist is stranded on the road, Patten said. It should also cut down on the amount of time spent at some car accidents.
The police department will continue its contracts with four other local towing companies to respond to police calls. People who are AAA members can request AAA service. But when police need a vehicle towed and the owner does not have AAA, they use a call list of those four companies. Those calls include cleaning up at car accidents and cars that needed to be towed after someone is arrested.
AAA of the Merrimack Valley in North Andover, Mass., started its club-owned fleet operation in 1999. It now has 30 vehicles that run from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to Buzz Seeley IV, director of automotive services at AAA. When its own trucks aren't operating, AAA contracts with area towing companies to fill in the gaps.
Seeley said the new agreement shouldn't change response time but will make their operations more efficient.
"What this is going to be able to do is centralize the trucks a little bit better, so we can respond in a more efficient manner," Seeley said.
He said AAA vehicles are already present in town, but have no central location.
AAA is hoping to expand its in-house fleet and improve the variety of services they can give to its members. It's part of a move to expand the club's profile in Salem. AAA has a new travel agency opening at 489 S. Broadway.
The company-owned vehicles are now equipped with diagnostic equipment that can test electrical and battery systems in cars. If a driver has a dead battery, AAA will sell one on the spot at a discounted price, Seeley said.
"We're not in the business of selling batteries, we're in the business of getting people back on the road," he said.
Patten said the deal arose more than a month ago while the police department was at a local traffic safety awards banquet hosted by AAA.
"We got to talking about our needs and their needs in the Salem area," he said.
Patten said the agreement with AAA is for one year. Seeley said it's the first time AAA of the Merrimack Valley has contracted with a local police department. He credited Patten with brokering the deal.
