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AAA marks 80 years of keeping motorists, pedestrians safe
AAA is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of their national traffic safety programs, which have helped teach generations of children and adults how to be safer drivers and protect them from crashes.
AAA was a pioneer in national traffic safety initiatives beginning with the establishment of its national traffic safety department in 1928.
“AAA is committed to the safety and security of motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and children,” said April Cochran, marketing operations manager of AAA Northwest Ohio. “Over the past 80 years, AAA has been at the forefront in the development of programs to protect our members and the traveling public. We continue that commitment today through our traffic safety and advocacy efforts addressing key issues such as child passenger safety, senior mobility and teen driver safety.”
The AAA School Safety Patrol started in 1920 and the first driving training was developed in 1935. Through the years, AAA has added programs to address important issues such as child passenger safety, teen and senior drivers, seatbelt usage and air bag safety.
Today, AAA offers a wide array of traffic safety programs to address the issues affecting its more than 51 million members as well as other drivers across North America, including:
Driver education – AAA provides parents instruction and guidance on teaching their teens to drive through printed information, as well as the Driver ZED DVD.
Child passenger safety –Through the Seated, Safe & Secure initiative, started in 2002, AAA has worked to close loopholes in child restraint laws across the nation and to educate the public about proper use of child restraints. AAA clubs have also been active in local communities promoting child passenger safety.
Senior mobility – AAA announced its Lifelong Safety Mobility initiative in 2003 to address the mobility needs of America’s growing senior population. Since then, AAA has launched a suite of senior programs, such as Roadwise Review, a computer-based screening that allows seniors to measure in the privacy of their own home the eight functional abilities shown to be the strongest predictors of crash risk among older drivers.
CarFit is an educational program developed by the American Society on Aging in collaboration with AAA, AARP and American Occupational Therapy Association, which helps mature drivers find out how well they “fit” with their vehicles, and what actions might be taken to improve their fit.
AAA’s Smart Features for Mature Drivers educates on a broad range of vehicle features that help address health issues frequently faced by seniors, such as arthritic hands, diminished vision and loss of upper body strength.
In-school programs – AAA offers several in-school traffic safety programs, including the AAA School Safety Patrol program and National School Traffic Safety Poster program, which both date back more than 60 years. Each fall, AAA also conducts an annual School’s Open—Drive Carefully public education campaign to remind motorists and students of the importance of school-zone safety.
Learn more at www.AAA.com
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