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In July 2008 the AA became a partner in the [[Campaign for Safe Road Design]] which is calling on the UK government to make safe road design a national transport priority<ref name="gettingahead">{{cite web|url=http://www.saferoaddesign.com/media/2024/safe%20roads%20final.doc|title=SAFE ROAD DESIGN TO SAVE UK £6BN EVERY YEAR|accessdate=2008-10-01 |format=Word DOC |publisher=[[Campaign for Safe Road Design]] }}</ref>.
In July 2008 the AA became a partner in the [[Campaign for Safe Road Design]] which is calling on the UK government to make safe road design a national transport priority<ref name="gettingahead">{{cite web|url=http://www.saferoaddesign.com/media/2024/safe%20roads%20final.doc|title=SAFE ROAD DESIGN TO SAVE UK £6BN EVERY YEAR|accessdate=2008-10-01 |format=Word DOC |publisher=[[Campaign for Safe Road Design]] }}</ref>.


The AA have launched a new team for servicing and m.o.t on your vehicles now with good competitive rates. allowing vehicles to be picked up and dropped off for free and also includes a free of charge wash and vac to return your car clean. With many thanks so best sellers in cheadle, Rizwan Ahmed ACT and Mohammed Ali ACT..keep up the good work lads
== AA rosettes==
The AA distributes rosettes to restaurants as a rating guide or [[Star (classification)|classification]].


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 18:02, 21 December 2010

This article is about the British Automobile Association. For other uses, see Automobile Association (disambiguation).
The Automobile Association Limited
Company typePrivate Limited
IndustryAutomotive services
FoundedUnited Kingdom (1905)
HeadquartersUK,
Basingstoke
ProductsMaps, Travel Guides
ServicesBreakdown assistance, Motoring Advice, Financial Advice and Driving school.
ParentAcromas Holdings Limited
Websitewww.theaa.com

The Automobile Association (The AA) is a British company providing car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and more recently home and contents insurance and home emergency cover. It was a former motoring association that became a private limited company in 1999, and is owned by its staff and three private equity firms.

History

Very old AA village sign at Hawkesbury Upton, South Gloucestershire England. The sign says that London is 103 miles away while the next village (Dunkirk) is one mile away.
A former AA BSA patrol bike from 1951.
Old-style AA telephone box on the A149 at Brancaster, England.

The Motor Car Act 1903 which came into force in 1904 had introduced new penalties for breaking the speed limit and for reckless driving; it also required vehicles to display a vehicle registration plate and for drivers to hold a driving licence. Fines were introduced for speeding and repeat offenders could be jailed and driving offences would be listed on the driver's licence as 'Endorsements'.

On 29 June 1905 a group of motoring enthusiasts met at the Trocadero restaurant in the West End of London. This was the inauguration of the Automobile Association, formed to help motorists avoid police speed traps.[1]

By 1906 the AA took a stand on road safety issues, and erected thousands of roadside warning signs.[1]

In 1907 the first AA patrols go on duty (using bicycles) in order to warn motorists of police speed traps ahead.

In 1908 the AA published the AA Members' Special Handbook, a list of nationwide agents and mechanics. The following year saw the introduction of the AA's free legal system.[1]

In 1910 in legal test case ('Betts -v- Stevens') involving an AA patrolman and a potentially speeding motorist the Chief Justice, Lord Alverston, ruled that were a patrolman signals to a speeding driver to slow down and thereby avoid a speed-trap then that person would have committed the offence of 'obstructing an officer in the course of his duty' under the Prevention of Crimes Amendment Act 1885.[2][3] Subsequently the organisation developed a coded warning system which was used until the 1960s whereby a patrolman would always salute the driver of a passing car which showed a visible AA Badge unless there was a speed trap nearby on the understanding that their officers could not be prosecuted for failing to salute.[4]

In 1910 the organisation introduced AA Routes and in 1912 began inspecting hotels and restaurants, issuing AA Star Classification to those deemed to be of sufficient quality.[1] By 1914, the AA had grown to 83,000 members. In the 1920s it introduced pre-purchase and post-accident repair checks.[1]

The Road Traffic Act 1930 removed the 20 mph speed limit which had been on statute since the Locomotives on Highways Act 1896. One reason given for the change was because the Automobile Association (and also the Royal Automobile Club) were frequently successful in defending their members against evidence from primitive speed traps. A speed limit of 30 mph in urban areas was re-introduced by the Road Traffic Act 1934 although speedometers were not made compulsory until 1937.

By 1939 the AA's membership had grown to 725,000, a number equivalent to 35% of all cars in the United Kingdom. When World War II ended the AA began to protest about wartime petrol rationing. The campaign was successful and rationing was repealed in 1950. This was the first of many campaigns that were aimed at championing the rights of British motorists.[1]

Other AA campaigns include the compulsory wearing of seat belts, and the introduction of lead-free petrol. Seat belt legislation became law in the UK in 1983 as required by the Transport Act 1981.[1]

1949 saw the launch of a night-time breakdown and recovery service. Initially available in only London and the surrounding districts, it has been extended to cover most of the UK.[1]

The AA Insurance brokerage service started in 1967. AA Insurance is the UK's largest motor insurance company. The service was extended to cover home and life insurance and also includes pet, travel and business insurance.[1]

In February 1972 it was announced that the organization would relocate from the "Fanum House" premises in London's Leicester Square which they had occupied since 1907 to a new building in Basingstoke.[5] It was anticipated that the new building would cost £4.5 million, while the central London premises would be leased to "a property concern for £5.5 million plus ground rent".[5] It was intended to retain a service counter facility at the London building.[5] The new headquarters was opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth.[citation needed]

In 1973 AA Roadwatch began broadcasting traffic reports on UK commercial radio stations. It grew to become the largest broadcaster of traffic information in Europe. AA Relay was also introduced in 1973, a service that will deliver a broken-down vehicle, its driver and passengers, luggage and trailer to anywhere in Britain.[1]

In 1992 the AA launched the AA Driving School franchise.[1] It now has more than 2,050 qualified driving instructors as franchise holders.[citation needed]

By 1994, AA's membership was at eight million.[1] Current estimates place the figure at over twelve million members.[citation needed]

In 1998 the AA closed down its 142 high street shops resulting in a loss of 1,000 jobs. These shops had sold insurance, AA membership and various motoring products.[6]

In 1999 the AA demutualised and was sold to Centrica, the holding company of British Gas for £1.1 billion.[1] Each full personal member of the breakdown service in the UK and Ireland received a payout of over £240.[citation needed] The AA Motoring Trust was formed in 2002 to take over the non-commercial activities of the AA.[1]

In 2001, while the AA was under Centrica control, the HQ moved to Farnborough, also in Hampshire, but returned to Basingstoke in October 2005 following the sale to CVC and Permira for £1.75 billion.

The AA Motoring Trust was formed in 2002 to carry out its public interest motoring and road safety work; this was then taken over by the IAM Motoring Trust which is a division of the Institute of Advanced Motorists) on 31 December 2006.[7]

The 2006 AA road map controversially included the location for thousands of speed cameras - the first time such information was available in that form.[8]

On 8 May 2007 the AA was the focus of the BBC's "The Money Programme". The sale of the company to CVC Permira was criticised and the detrimental effect this has had upon the company's performance was exposed. Following the October 2005 buyout the company has been saddled with £1.3 billion of debt and the number of patrols was cut significantly, with many of these cuts said to be under unfair circumstances; a third of the 10,000 staff were cut in order to "improve efficiency". Tim Parker, the previous chief executive, has since admitted that the cut-backs were too great, and that with the increased work load in the 2006 summer they required more patrols.

CVC Permira had been looking to sell the AA for approximately £3 billion, marking a substantial profit, even after repayments of debt. On 25 June 2007 the company announced that it would merge with Charterhouse's Saga, another private equity owned company, which provides services including insurance and holidays to over 50s.[9] The new holding company, Acromas Holdings, is owned by CVC, Permira, Charterhouse and staff. The deal valued the AA at £3.35 billion and the combined company will be worth more than £6 billion, making it the 20th largest company in the UK.[10][11]

In 2008, AA fielded 5.6 million calls with 3.6 million requiring assistance[12].

Campaign for Safe Road Design

In July 2008 the AA became a partner in the Campaign for Safe Road Design which is calling on the UK government to make safe road design a national transport priority[13].

The AA have launched a new team for servicing and m.o.t on your vehicles now with good competitive rates. allowing vehicles to be picked up and dropped off for free and also includes a free of charge wash and vac to return your car clean. With many thanks so best sellers in cheadle, Rizwan Ahmed ACT and Mohammed Ali ACT..keep up the good work lads

See also

  • AA car transporter in 2004.
    AA car transporter in 2004.
  • AA van in 2004.
    AA van in 2004.
  • AA Vauxhall Vivaro breakdown van in 2008.
    AA Vauxhall Vivaro breakdown van in 2008.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "About us". The AA. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  2. ^ JA Coutts, 'Obstructing the Police' (1956) 19 MLR 411
  3. ^ "Road Traffic - 1900- 1929". swarb.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  4. ^ Massey, Ray (4 February 2010). "Drivers face breakdown nightmare after AA staff ballot for first strike in 105 years". The Daily Mail. London.
  5. ^ a b c "Motorweek: The AA are to withdraw from London". Motor: 47. 12 February 1972.
  6. ^ AA axes 1,000 jobs BBC News. 5 August 1998
  7. ^ "The IAM Motoring Trust". Road and road transport history association. Retrieved 2010-04-29. The IAM Motoring Trust is a new, independent road safety organisation, which forms the research and advocacy arm of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) The Trust is taking forward the work of the AA Motoring Trust, which ceased to operate on 31 December 2006.
  8. ^ Bloomfield, Steve (2005-06-26). "AA causes fury by publishing its first-ever map of speed cameras". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2010-04-17. A controversial decision by the AA to publish its first map of speed traps has provoked a storm of protest from safety experts, who accuse the organisation of encouraging motorists to break the law.
  9. ^ Charterhouse announces the combination of Saga with the AA, Charterhouse website, June 26, 2007
  10. ^ Saga and AA outline £6bn tie-up BBC News. 25 June 2007
  11. ^ Saga and AA to merge in £6.2bn deal engineered by private equity firms Simon Bowers and Ian Griffiths. The Guardian. 26 June 2007
  12. ^ "Drivers' champion in the big league: The AA's billion-pound business extends beyond roadside rescues. Roger Trapp reports - Business, News". London: The Independent. 1993-10-12. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  13. ^ "SAFE ROAD DESIGN TO SAVE UK £6BN EVERY YEAR" (Word DOC). Campaign for Safe Road Design. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
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