Safe Speed Forums

I have cancelled my AA membership in potest at the ridiculous statement made by the AA representative, in light of the Idris Francis ruling.

"The AA welcomed the ruling, saying: “While all systems used for remote enforcement have disadvantages, we are not sure that any of the other methods used around the world are better or fairer.”

Apart from the diabolical service that AA members are now facing,I for one do not wish to associate or fund an organisation with such attitudes. One right we do have left, is to vote with our wallets.

Did you simply cancel or did you write a steaming letter addressed to the head cheese stating why you cancelled?

_________________
Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

I cancelled the AA a few years ago, writing them a letter about why, it was because of their kowtow attitude towards the flawed Govt policies.

I cancelled the RAC for the same reason two years ago.

Now rely on the insurance provided service

_________________
Former Military Police Officer and accident investigator

I haven't yet written them a letter but now you mention it, I will.

I cancelled AA membership in 1979, and never went back. The reason I cancelled was because of poor service I received when I found I had a flat battery at Slough station at 11pm one night. The AA couldn't tell me when the van would arrive. Every time I called, they said it would be "soon". The van finally showed up at 3:30am.

Now, had they told me that there was a long wait for service, I would have got a taxi home and returned the following evening with the jump start cables I'd lent to a friend. I also felt (at that time) that AA membership costs were excessive, and that they provided a whole raft of superfluous services that I would never use.

These days I drive cars from the VAG group and rely on their emergency assistance programme. In ten years, I've had to make three callouts. In every case, the assistance vehicle showed up within half an hour.

Could safespeed negotiate a rate (with a small sales commission) with another network such as green flag

_________________
Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Untill this year I'd never had membership of any of them, instead relying on a regularly maintaned car and a little knowledge, and if I ever did have a breakdown just cough up. which in ten years of motoring amounted to about £50 (or therabouts) on a couple of occasions for a flat battery. Evan if I'd found myself being recovered off the motorway at £300 or so, still beats ten years of premiums.

This year I joined the RAC cos I had an intermittant fault preventing starting - turned out to be fuel pressure or suchlike- but before getting it sucessfully diagnosed & fixed they came out about 4 times in 6 weeks

_________________
Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

Well not green flag, certainly not any of these anyway

http://www.brake.org.uk/index.php?p=5

_________________
Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Yes, that's exactly the rationale I used when folks around me expressed surprise that I'd cancelled. Of course, cars back then were nowhere near as good as the cars of today, and needed a lot more maintenance.

A similar scenario arose when, many years ago, I began to use my car in my business for transporting various goods. The insurance premium shot up to about £500 fully comp (in the 1970s!!) for a car that was worth about £1000. In two years I would have spent as much on insurance as it would have cost to buy a new car. So I went TPF&T. My broker couldn't believe his ears when I told him. And I said that the fully comp deal assumed I was going to write the car off every 2 years... If I'd had minor damage, I'd use the money I'd saved on insurance to pay for it.

With most of my cars I have relied on self maintenance and repair, to a degree that I would never be called upon to 'tow myself off the motorway' in the absence of breakdown cover.

The one car I did get breakdown cover for was the Spitfire, and for the £16 per year the RAC cover cost through my insurers I had at least a dozen call outs, half of which resulted in a decent length trip home on the back of a lorry, and 4 of which resulted in a free courtesy car!

I love that car!

I wonder if we're looking at this the wrong way, that is expecting breakdown companies to stand up for motorists rights. When you examine their business model, it's really closer to a protection racket than anything that helps motorists or looks after them.

If they were really looking out for us they'd just charge a fair call out fee when you broke down, instead of requiring continuous payments.

Maybe we need a section devoted to motoring companies and thier press releases to make it easier to decide who is batting for us and who is batting against us. Also we might invite the press to report on that section. Especialy the motoring press.

How do they know that they are losing our custom unless we tell them? And a percentage of us is quite a small number, but a percentage of motoring press readers... now that is worth worying about.
(and it rases safespeeds profile and message)

_________________
Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

The Safe Speed campaign certainly doesn't want to risk upsetting the AA or similar organisations. Sooner or later they are going to have to change sides, and we should not put up barriers to 'sooner'.

Individuals expressing their disappointment is one thing (I can't see a downside).

Put it this way - when policies are failing we should be a safety net for organisations like the AA. So we avoid the 'ad hominem' and provide good ammunition for them to use as required. Our attacks need to be focussed on bad policies, their results and the specific political sources of those policies.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

We have something in common and something to agree about !!!

My spitfire used to break down as well, in spite of my best efforts. Bearing in mind that I maintain a DS19 which doesn't break down, that says something about engineering standards of spitfires.

I gave up the AA when they stopped covering cars more than 10 years old. They have recently re-instated old car cover but its too late, I have found out how much better the RAC are and I won't be going back.

LOL! Remember that old Bob Hope joke about the Banks? Something like "Banks are always willing to lend you money - provided you can prove that you don't need it!"

Same thing with British Gas. My first house had a boiler that was more than 10 years old. I knew that there were various service contracts available from BG, known as one-star, two-star, three-star etc. Because of the age of my boiler, BG would only allow me one star service. The boiler was a Potterton, and like all Potterton boilers that have heated my various homes over the years, it never gave any trouble. But when I moved to a newer house where the boiler was only 5 years old, BG were falling over themselves to coerce me into signing up to the 3-star service plan. I said no, and when they asked why, I said that for the past four years they'd made me make do with one star service, and that if I can make do with 1-star service on a 12 year old boiler, I'm sure as hell I can make do with 1-star service on a 5 year old boiler.

Me and Nos have joint RAC cover. We pay for it, but we have driver cover rather than vehicle cover, and with 6 vehicles in the house its good economy IMO!

We don't have to call them out very often (last time was when we were half way down the M5 and the main coolant line out of the block self distructed - lost all coolant in about 15 seconds!!), but especially on the bike its nice to know its there.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.