Government Relations

AAA has always been a strong advocate for the safety of all motorists and travelers. Over the years, that role has widened to include issues beyond traffic safety such as energy, environmental, general travel, tourism and transportation taxation.

The Rights of Travelers. At the national level, AAA Government Relations professionals work to ensure tax revenue from gasoline and aviation ticket taxes is used to maintain and improve the nation's transportation system — not for other purposes. Government relations experts routinely testify before congressional committees and federal agencies on issues that affect AAA members and the public including:

• Safe highways and vehicles.
• Drunken-driving prevention programs.
• Equitable travel taxes and recreation fees.
• Novice and mature driver safety programs.

At the state level, club representatives testify before legislatures on similar issues. Locally, clubs work with officials on such issues as highway safety, traffic congestion, drinking and driving countermeasures and pedestrian safety.

Graduated Driver Licensing. Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among individuals ages 15 to 20. The legislative component of AAA's nationwide Licensed to Learn program involves efforts to enact graduated driver licensing laws in all 50 states. GDL is designed to eliminate deficiencies in the licensing process that allow new drivers to become fully licensed without ensuring they are ready to drive. Nearly all states have passed either full or partial GDL bills.

Transportation Funding. For the Crisis Ahead: Americas Aging Highways and Airways campaign, AAA and affiliated clubs coordinated a grassroots campaign that was instrumental in the legislative battle to significantly boost investment in the nation's infrastructure and ensure gasoline taxes collected from motorists are dedicated to transportation. The campaign ended successfully in June 1998 when Congress approved, and the president signed into law, the largest transportation bill in the nation's history. AAA provided safety data and information, which resulted in vastly improved safety provisions being included in the bill. Work continues to provide a proper federal focus on transportation and transportation financing.

Roadside Assistance. AAA is synonymous with Roadside Assistance for members. However, these operations are not limited solely to members. AAA also dispatches emergency vehicles to assist local police and state highway patrols in clearing accident scenes. During national disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, blizzards, hurricanes, ice storms and floods, AAA road service contractors often are the only vehicles capable of moving— and they do. AAA dispatches contractors and fleets where help is needed. And that eases the burden on police and other emergency vehicles. AAA's Government Relations staff works with Congress and the federal government to preserve the mobile radio frequencies AAA uses to dispatch Roadside Assistance.

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