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The Automobile Association (The AA) is a British motoring association founded in 1905, which was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice and other services. Following demutualisation the AA Motoring Trust was created in 2002 to continue its public interest and road safety activities. In 2007 the AA merged with Saga Group to form Acromas Holdings. Acromas listed The AA on the London Stock Exchange in 2014 and it is now a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company has published, among other things AA 2009 Road Atlas Great Britain and Ireland atlases in 2008. ==History== The Automobile Association was founded in 1905 to help motorists avoid police speed traps,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About us )〕 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 on payment of 5 shillings and did not require a driving test) 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Village name marker a relic from Devon's motoring past )〕 In 1908 the organisation published its first ''AA Members' Special Handbook'' containing a list of nationwide agents and mechanics with a free legal service the following year.〔 AA patrols on bicycles warned motorists of police speed traps ahead. In 1910 in a legal test case ('Betts -v- Stevens') involving an AA patrolman and a potentially speeding motorist, the Chief Justice, Lord Alverston, ruled that where 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.〔JA Coutts, ('Obstructing the Police' ) (1956) 19 MLR 411〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Road Traffic - 1900- 1929 )〕 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. The AA Handbook included the following message many times: "It cannot be too strongly emphasised that when a patrol fails to salute, the member should stop and ask the reason why, as it is certain that the patrol has something of importance to communicate." 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〔 and introduced pre-purchase and post-accident repair checks in the 1920s.〔 One reason given for the removal of all UK speed limits by the Road Traffic Act 1930 was that the Automobile Association and also the Royal Automobile Club were frequently successful in defending their members against evidence from the speed traps of the day. A speed limit of 30 mph in urban areas was re-introduced by the Road Traffic Act 1934 and speedometers were made compulsory in 1937. By 1939 the AA's membership had grown to 725,000, covering roughly a third of all cars then on the UK roads. After the war the AA 'led the protest' against petrol rationing which was repealed in 1950.〔 The organisation campaigned for the compulsory wearing of seat belts, and for the introduction of unleaded petrol. Seat belt legislation became law in the UK in 1983 as required by the Transport Act 1981.〔 They have lobbied successive governments over what they describe as 'unfair motoring taxes'.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History )〕 1949 saw the launch of a night-time breakdown and recovery service initially in London only before extending nationally.〔 The ''AA Insurance'' brokerage service, started in 1967, is currently the UK's largest motor insurance company.〔 In February 1972 the AA relocated from its central London offices to Basingstoke. It began broadcasting ''AA Roadwatch'' traffic reports on UK commercial radio stations the following year. ''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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Automobile Association」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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