Expand: date=September 2007 The AAA (usually read triple-A), formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is an American not-for-profit automobile lobby group, service organization, and seller of vehicle insurance. Its national headquarters are near Orlando, Florida in Heathrow, Florida.

History

The American Automobile Association was founded on March 4, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio as a response to a lack of roads and highways suitable for autos. The organization originally had 1000 charter members, who were generally of an auto enthusiast demographic. AAA's membership base is and was formed from a number of local and regional motor clubs that later combined forces to create a more powerful organization.

The association expanded its scope of services as years progressed. The first AAA road maps were published in 1905, and AAA began printing hotel guides in 1917. AAA began its School Safety Patrol Program in 1920, and many driver safety programs followed in the decades to come. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which conducts a large volume of studies regarding motorist safety, was established as separate entity in 1947.

AAA was a sanctioning organization for auto racing in the United States until 1956. It sanctioned many races, including the Indianapolis 500. After the 1955 Le Mans disaster, AAA decided that auto racing distracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning/officiating.

Current operations

Members belong to an individual club (such as AAA Northwest Ohio, AAA Mid-Atlantic, the California State Automobile Association, the Automobile Club of Southern California, AAA Oregon/Idaho, or Auto Club South, for example) and the clubs in turn own AAA. The member clubs have arranged a reciprocal service system so that members of any participating club are able to receive member services from any other affiliate club. Member dues finance all club services as well as the operations of the national organization.

From the standpoint of the consumer, AAA clubs primarily provide emergency road services to members. These services, which include everything from lockouts, winching, tire changes, automotive first aid, and towing, are handled by private local towing companies contracted by a state AAA club. Many AAA clubs have an automotive fleet division serving large metro areas, while private towing companies cover the surplus call volume by area. Recently, certain clubs have implemented an "on the go" diagnostic/installation automotive battery program, which offers members an additional service to an ever more demanding commute. This is part of AAA's vision for the future of automotive services, termed Go, not Tow. Clubs also distribute road maps and travel publications, and rate restaurants and hotels according to a "diamond" scale (one to five). The best hotels and restaurants according to AAA's criteria receive the Five Diamond Award. Many offices sell automobile liability insurance, provide travel agency, auto-registration and notary services. AAA also offers member discounts at over 100 partners including many hotels, Amtrak, Hertz rental cars, Jiffy Lube, LensCrafters, and Payless ShoeSource through its "Show Your Card & Save" program.