Do I Get AAA?

[baiskeli]

@acl 45335 wrote:

Whoa. I did not know such a thing existed. Has anyone ever used it?

That would go a long way towards mitigating Obstacle #2 to my hypothetical future bike commute, if they’re reliable. (Obstacle #2 being an utter lack of public transportation options to get me home in the event of a mechanical/physical breakdown or unexpected severe weather outbreak halfway through the ride).

I just found out after reading some of the links here that AAA has bike roadside assistance too.

But BWC is actually pro-bike, and AAA is anti-bike, so that choice is easy.

[creadinger]

@baiskeli 45336 wrote:

I just found out after reading some of the links here that AAA has bike roadside assistance too.

But BWC is actually pro-bike, and AAA is anti-bike, so that choice is easy.

It’s just good business to keep up with your competitor. Whether they support cycling or not, offering the service will keep customers from running for BWC based on services alone.

Also, I don’t think the anti-bike message of AAA is widely known (I didn’t know it until it came up on this forum a couple of years ago), but among the people who just go about their day on weekend rides or short errands only sees AAA as the jump starting, flat fixing guys you call when you need a tow.

If I was inclined to join a roadside service contract tomorrow it would definitely be BWC. I would rather not pay for a service at all than spend money on AAA though as we’re doing now.

[KS1G]

I’ve had AAA membership for eons – parents did, so I did. Haven’t used a trip-tik in eons, sometimes use the hotel discount (my wife’s Priceline-fu is so awesome, so not often), and have used roadside assistance a few times. I think I’ve kept the service more for the roadside help (and the muzak while you wait in the phone queue), and for my wife & two college-age kids. And I write angry letters to them reminding I pay for FOUR drivers and they are going to lose my business if they continue to do stuff like the OP posted, which get ignored. Getting tired of that – need to check BWC between now & when AAA membership renews. And see what insurance carrier offers.

[thucydides]

I couldn’t begin to count the number of lectures or talks I’ve given over the years where I use AAA as an example of an interest group acting in the name of a membership that doesn’t even know it’s an interest group. Here’s a typical scenario. I ask: “How many of you belong to AAA?” The number of hands that goes up usually ranges from 50% to 75%. “Why do you belong?” Towing service is always the modal answer, some people mention maps or their travel service, students use to mention the bail bond service (!). I then ask: “How many of you know AAA lobbies Congress and state legislatures on various transportation issues?” The most hands up I ever got was 10 in an audience of about 100. “Okay, can anyone name a stance AAA takes on an issue?” What I almost always get at that point is crickets. People join AAA for the services they get. I think most people see AAA as utterly apolitical. It’s just an organization they do business with. But AAA turns around and uses that large membership to help pursue policies supposedly in that membership’s name when the membership really doesn’t know the first thing about what AAA is doing. It’s a real nice racket.

[Terpfan]

@mstone 45330 wrote:

Well, that’s the problem, they actively lobby against the interests of non-auto-users. It’s one thing to be in favor of building roads, it’s another to lobby against pedestrian & cyclist safety measures. For years they’ve put out that they want to work with cyclists, so if cyclists criticize them it’s the cyclists that are unreasonable. Of course, their pro-cyclist activities basically consist of trying to get people to wear helmets while getting their bike off the road.

They’re probably also for reducing emissions, mass transit and everything else… in name, but in action of course not. Since they’re a federation, they’re only likely to respond to complaints either from within or very loud and concerted external complaints. So if there is a collective of us in AAA-MidAtlantic than maybe we start a petition demanding they include a cycling affiliate on their board or something to that effect.

[JorgeGortex]

Shoot them full of holes if you like… but when you need them, they are there, and they are reliable. When my wife and five month old are out and about, it makes me feel just a little bit better knowing that if I can’t be there to help them in a car mechanical emergency situation, there is a reliable one like AAA who can. And none of that keeps me off my bike. I think energy and vigor are better directed at turning the pedals. Or lobbying them to change their lobbying stance. FWIW.

[DSalovesh]

@baiskeli 45336 wrote:

I just found out after reading some of the links here that AAA has bike roadside assistance too.

Specific link?

I see BikeLeague lauding AAA Washington (State) for adding bicycle coverage, but I don’t see any mention of it for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

That’s part of the problem, to me: people don’t join to support the national lobbying group, they join because the garage where that nice mechanic figured out that strange noise that one time (and fixed it cheap!) also runs an AAA approved tow service. That one tow that one time was $100, which more than covers the cost of AAA, and AAA lists more services offered too, so why not have that peace of mind, save money, AND feel like your favorite local garage is going to take care of you wherever you go and whatever you do?

Never before have I felt as strongly that I should join an organization just to help tear it down. We can keep the roadside assistance stuff, but I can’t threaten to cancel my membership over their anti-bike lobbying if I don’t actually have one.

[eminva]

Apparently, AAA has not been deaf to these concerns:

http://vimeo.com/60585187#at=0

Liz

(P.S. Am I the only one who lives dangerously, without anyone pre-contracted to come haul off my car or bike if needed?)

[consularrider]

I’m actually more upset about the AAA rants against speed and red light cameras. Must not be feeling it to hard since I still haven’t cancelled my membership (I do take advantage of their discounts and maps, but haven’t used their towing or road service for over 30 years).

[Terpfan]

@eminva 45365 wrote:

Apparently, AAA has not been deaf to these concerns:

http://vimeo.com/60585187#at=0

Liz

(P.S. Am I the only one who lives dangerously, without anyone pre-contracted to come haul off my car or bike if needed?)

Got me to seeing if AAA-Midatlantic deems a bicycle a vehicle for the puposes of roadside assistance (they do not). However, I did notice this gem in their recommendations:

“8. GIVE CARS AND PEDESTRIANS THE RIGHT-OF-WAY.
It’s an act of courtesy, and it is safer, too.”
http://midatlantic.aaa.com/Foundation/CommunityPrograms/~/media/42481A5E08684F5CA1A8B607D32874C9.ashx

It sounds like they’re saying defer to cars, even in the roadway. The video was nice though.

[Greenbelt]

@eminva 45365 wrote:

Apparently, AAA has not been deaf to these concerns:

http://vimeo.com/60585187#at=0

Liz

(P.S. Am I the only one who lives dangerously, without anyone pre-contracted to come haul off my car or bike if needed?)

Nope — haven’t needed roadside assistance in 2 decades. Car engines are so reliable now, as long as you replace your tires, battery, belts and hoses before they’re shot, and know how to change a tire, I don’t see much need for need for roadside help. Plus with cellphones, Google, you could call a tow truck anyway, don’t need AAA to find one for you.

[lordofthemark]

@Greenbelt 45372 wrote:

Nope — haven’t needed roadside assistance in 2 decades. Car engines are so reliable now, as long as you replace your tires, battery, belts and hoses before they’re shot, and know how to change a tire, I don’t see much need for need for roadside help. Plus with cellphones, Google, you could call a tow truck anyway, don’t need AAA to find one for you.

The tow trucks come faster when called by a roadside assistance service, IIUC. And they will have a reliable one when you off in south Succotash (young folks may trust Yelp reviews found on their Iphones to determine who is reliable) That said, we use All State motor club – there are plenty of motor clubs other than triple AAA. Its really not that hard a business to get into.

[baiskeli]

@DSalovesh 45364 wrote:

Specific link?

I see BikeLeague lauding AAA Washington (State) for adding bicycle coverage, but I don’t see any mention of it for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Ah, yes, I just learned about this so I didn’t notice that detail.

[Rod Smith]

@JorgeGortex 45360 wrote:

Shoot them full of holes if you like… but when you need them, they are there, and they are reliable…

Too bad there are no alternatives. Oh wait…

[Mark Blacknell]

One more time – please stop giving money to AAA:

Perhaps the most dogged general in the war on cars is AAA’s John Townsend, a 62-year-old grandfather from Alabama with slicked-back white hair and a patient and genial demeanor—until you bring up David Alpert, who runs the “smart growth” website Greater Greater Washington, an unabashed proponent of policies that would make the city’s streets more multimodal. Then the venom starts to fly.

“He is a nerd,” Townsend says. “I think that he’s developmentally retarded.”

Townsend believes that Alpert dishes out criticism from the protected space of his blog that he wouldn’t dare speak in person. “It’s almost like the Klan hiding behind the white masks,” Townsend says.

AAA doesn’t respond to Alpert, Townsend says, because he’s “not worthy” and it would be “like shooting a gnat with a bazooka,” but Townsend himself is not above lashing out at Alpert. “I’ve told him to his face, ‘You’re a little ninny,’ and he ran out the room like a schoolboy,” Townsend says.

[Author]

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