I tried to send this earlier today when the conversation was still hot - it
didn't go through but I'll send it again now:
I have resisted AAA's frequent junk mail overtures to re-subscribe because
several years ago when I needed them they were not there. My friends and I
were stranded in a fairly rural area on a Sunday after a camping trip. We
hiked several miles to a phone, called them with my AAA card in hand, and
explained our situation. AAA did nothing, sent no one, and gave no
explanation for why they were not helping. I had to call them back several
times, and actually got grief from the dispatcher for doing so. AAA will
only help you when you are in an area where you won't have much trouble
getting help anyway. Don't expect them to help you when you most need it.
The image of AAA coming to the rescue, as far as I'm concerned, is a myth.
AAA at best is a convenient dispatch service for tows, flat repair, and
roadside gas - which is a service offered by many others these days. AAA
surely was once a good deal. Today, however, cars are far more reliable, it
is easy enough to get maps and travel information online, you can easily
call for quick assistance from the police (#77 here in Virginia). Add to
that the dubious political efforts David mentions! The result in my
estimation is that annual dues are very unlikely to be a good wager anymore.
In fact, despite driving a bunch of allegedly unreliable cars over the last
ten years, I did better by not paying AAA. I expect to do better by not
paying them anything now.
Of course that's even easier to say now that I have my own car trailer! ;-)
Dean
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Breneman" <idcb@airborne.com>
> I know this may seem tangential to this conversation, but I decided
> way back in the late 70s to steer clear of AAA when they became
> politicised. They came out firmly in favor of the 55 MPH "national"
> speed limit and lobbied for it. How a *driver's* organization could
> be in favor of such an anti-driver law always puzzled me, and I figured
> there must be some back-room wheeling and dealing going on between
> them and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (an organization
> that lobbies for new and more effective ways to raise the premiums of
> *safe* drivers) regarding AAA's insurance program.
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