Charitable association The Automobile Association was founded in 1905 by William John Bosworth, to help motorists avoid
police speed traps, 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 without a test on payment of five shillings at a post office) 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. In 1908, the organisation published its first ''AA Members' Special Handbook'' containing a list of nationwide agents and repairers. The organisation then introduced a coded warning system, used until the 1960s, whereby an AA patrolman would 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 stated that "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. In February 1972, the AA relocated from its central London offices to
Basingstoke. In the following year it began broadcasting
AA Roadwatch traffic reports on commercial radio stations.
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. The meeting repeatedly criticised chairman Sir
Brian Shaw for having said that members who were unhappy with this arrangement could "vote with their feet". Centrica sold the AA in July 2004 to two private equity firms,
CVC and
Permira, which in July 2007 merged the AA with
Saga under
Acromas Holdings. In 2006,
CVC and
Permira were accused by Labour MP
Gwyn Prosser in the
House of Commons of "greed" and "blatant
asset stripping" of the AA "to borrow £500m on the basis of the AA's assets in order to pay themselves a dividend." The AA responded that they were "happy to have a reasoned conversation with Mr Prosser." In July 2013, the company launched
AA Cars, linking buyers and sellers of used cars. The service is a partnership with Vcars, rebranding its partner's existing online service and providing a check of the car's history. At the time of rebranding, over 110,000 cars were available for purchase via 2,000 registered dealers. In September 2015, the AA acquired the garage-booking service Motoriety. In that year, the AA had around 3,000 patrol staff.
Bob Mackenzie was Executive Chairman from June 2014, having led the buy out from Acromas, until August 2017 when he was removed for "gross misconduct". He was replaced by Simon Breakwell as Acting Chief Executive, and John Leach as Chairman. In July 2015, the AA added more than 500
Volkswagen Transporter vans to their patrol fleet. More vans were ordered in February 2017. The organisation had operated in Ireland from 1910. The
AA Ireland business was sold to
Carlyle Cardinal Ireland Fund and Carlyle Global Financial Services Partners in June 2016. The company stated that it had 3.3 million paying members in the first half of 2017. The sale was completed in March 2021 with the company delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
Divisions and brands The AA operates several different divisions and brands, including: • The AA (breakdown cover, various insurance products, financial services products, motoring-related products) • Beam, a specialist insurance brand for price comparison websites launched in 2022 • The
British School Of Motoring (BSM), a driving school it acquired that was previously owned by rival
RAC • DriveTech, which provides driver training for companies and to individuals referred by the Police
Offices and physical estate The AA has streamlined its property estate over time, with its new main headquarters opening at Plant, Basingstoke in December 2024. The business also maintains a call centre in Cheadle, Stockport and manages its patrol force of roadside mechanics from an operations centre in
Oldbury near Birmingham. Additionally, a number of marketing, finance and digital functions operate from a London office, firstly at 90 Long Acre in Covent Garden, and from 2021 at the Blue Fin Building near the River Thames. The AA Driving School, which includes the AA and
BSM driving school brands, is based in offices in Cardiff. The AA's publishing arm, AA Publishing, is based in separate offices in Basingstoke.
Continuing charities The AA Foundation for Road Safety Research was created by the AA in 1986. In 2002, the AA Motoring Trust charity was created to continue the AA's public interest and road safety activities; its responsibilities were transferred to the IAM Motoring Trust, under the
Institute of Advanced Motorists, at the end of 2006. The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety and the Environment was established in 2008. It has conducted successful campaigns such as Think Bikes, Caitlin's Campaign, Driver Distraction and #BuckleUp. ==AA ratings and awards==