AAA and why we should support alternatives

[PeaceNikki]

AAA dues fuel pollution and sprawl

Drivers clutching this card as a talisman against automotive calamity should know that, in doing so, they lend support to an agenda-in favor of road building, against pollution control and even auto-safety measures-that helps deepen the automotive calamity afflicting the nation as a whole.

For those not willing to read detailed articles on other sites, here are some of the things AAA has lobbied for and/or still does:

1990 - AAA lobbied against the Clean Air Act

1998 - AAA lobbied against a 7 cent gas tax for land preservation. We all like to get from point A to B, but only if neither is totally paved over when we get there.
Present - AAA still lobbies for ever wider roads, seen as a major cause of congestion rather than a relief of it by many organizations.

Present - AAA is on the record against virtually every proposal for cutting automobile pollution.

1989 - AAA called vapor traps on gas tanks a safety hazard.

1994 - AAA opposed a move by smogbound eastern states to promote low-polluting cars.

1997 - AAA opposed new smog limitations.

AAA opposed the airbag law, not sure what year.

http://www.newdream.org/newsletter/breakdown.php
AAA uses membership dollars to lobby against federal environmental and auto safety laws, as well as public transportation initiatives. If AAA had its way, that bus you need to flag down might never come.

In 1990, AAA fought against strengthening the Clean Air Act. They claim to represent members even though three quarters of Americans supported the measure and the vast majority of club members have little awareness of and virtually no say in AAA's lobbying agenda. The news about AAA's political arm even surprised the nation's most well-known dispensers of auto advice, Tom and Ray Magliozzi - better known as "Click and Clack" of National Public Radio's hugely popular Car Talk. Said Click (or maybe Clack): "We had no idea that part of our AAA dues were being spent on lobbyists who oppose just about everything having to do with public transportation. If AAA thinks that it's a good idea for every single person to get to work in 3000 pounds of iron, we sure don't want to help support such a silly idea."

More info here:
http://www.sierraclub.org/e-files/roadside_assistance.asp
http://misanthropicscott.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/aaa-is-pure-evil/

Here's an alternative - PLEASE share others:
http://www.betterworldclub.com/

[RebelOne]

1. Too bad I just renewed my AAA membership for a year.

[skygazer]

2. Dammit!

My AAA card is how I avoid the lines at the DMV! D'oh! :banghead:

[momophile]

3. very interesting.

I'll forward this to my husband.
thanks!

[rug]

4. But will Al Gore come and change my flat?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Yes, AAA is consistently against public transportation

:grr:

[BarenakedLady]

6. Very interesting

Something to think about.

[Initech]

7. Hey, AAA saved my life a few months ago.

Had I not been able to contact a tow truck through them, I would have left my car in the middle of the desert.

[PeaceNikki]

10. Their service is valuable, no doubt. But there are alternatives.

[seemunkee]

8. Thanks

I just got my renewal from them. My wife keeps having me renew with them despite the fact that it takes forever for a tow truck to show when we have called. Maybe I can convince her to cancel.

[Deep13]

9. I don't drink much, so I really don't need AAA.

Oh, waitaminute, that's "AA."