Automobile Association (UK)
 |
|
| The AA | |
| Public | |
| Traded as | : |
| Industry | Automotive services |
| Founded | 1905 |
| Headquarters | Fanum House, Basingstoke, United Kingdom |
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
|
Key people
|
Bob Mackenzie (Executive Chairman) |
| Revenue | £973 million (2016) |
| £305 million (2016) | |
| £6 million (2016) | |
|
Number of employees
|
7,862 (2016) |
| Website | www |
AA plc (The AA) (originally, The Automobile Association) is a British motoring association founded in 1905, which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association demutualised in 1999, to become a private limited company, and in 2002, the AA Motoring Trust was created to continue its public interest and road safety activities. The company is listed on the , and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The Automobile Association was founded in 1905, to help motorists avoid police speed traps, in response to the Motor Car Act 1903 which introduced new penalties for breaking the speed limit, for reckless driving with fines, endorsements and the possibility of jail for speeding and other driving offences.
The act also required drivers to hold a driving licence (which was obtained without a test on payment of five shillings) and to display a registration plate on their vehicle.
By 1906, the AA had erected thousands of roadside danger and warning signs, and managed road signage until responsibility was passed to local authorities in the early 1930s. By 1926, the organisation had installed 6,500 direction signs, and 15,000 village signs, most of which were removed during the Second World War.
In 1908, the organisation published its first AA Members' Special Handbook containing a list of nationwide agents and repairers.
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Wikipedia