THE RAC is issuing all its 1,400 patrols with 'smart' battery tester kits, in a £500,000 investment programme. The mobile kit allows patrols to make an accurate, on-the-spot diagnosis of the state of the car's battery, identifying whether there is any life left in it, or whether it needs immediate replacement.

Flat and faulty batteries occupy the top two places in the RAC's annual league table of causes of fleet car breakdowns - some 49,685 incidents in 1995 alone.

Phil Lloyd, RAC engineering and information manager, said: 'Car batteries generally have an average life of three years. Beyond this, they will start to fail, especially in frost, wet and cold weather when more is expected of them. For the first time, the new smart tester units will establish on-the-spot the amount of life left in the battery and if it needs replacing,' added Lloyd.