We talk about the history of the Automobile Association but some take it more serious than others. So much so there is are collectors who take pride in locating and collecting badges and anything else related to the old AA motoring club.

There are also AA memorabilia books oriented which detail what was used in which motoring era, from metal badges to the telephone boxes that were every few miles or so on public roads before mobile phone made them obsolete just about.

Some collector items can fetch a tidy sum when sold.

This also expand for the Royal Automobile Club too who although always deemed as the second largest played a huge part in motoring development and road safety. Somehow they also had a reputation for sponsoring motorsport, with eth RAC being a favourite for many years.

The history of the RAC is equally interesting and it on reflection it does seem a shame that everything is about economies of scale and how only by being big can you deliver a real cost effective service. Lets be honest, the price of membership in the 21st century is the cheapest it has ever been in real terms.

A good place to search for motoring club memorabilia is Ebay, where international items can be found also. We should not forget that both the AA and the RAC have a presence in Australia too, so they also have a history to reflect on.

Remember the time when you would see the AA patrolman attending some call outs on his Norton motorbike during the golden age of motoring. Well the guy on the bike is back, once again offering breakdown cover on two wheels. There is a difference though, the AA are now using electric bikes within central London to be more environmentally friendly. The motorbikes are called Vectrix Bike, the claim is they can be quicker in heavy traffic and of course not be seen as contributing traffic or co2 problems.

The AA believes that the bike still has its worth because that so many breakdowns are due to flat batteries, flat tyres and being locked out their car, in better words callouts that do not need a large set of parts or tools.
The AA are also keen to suggest that one persons breakdown could cause other motorists problems, especially if the breakdown on a busy street. The improved attendance time within city areas, could ease congestion and get both the car that has broken down and possibly many other motorists on their way much quicker.

The breakdown cover service provider Gem Motoring Assist have put together a small video with skid control UK on how to avoid a skid. It goes through the basis from under steer to over steer and explains that nearly every accident on UK roads will avoid a skid of some sort, no matter what the weather conditions are. Of course it is the loss of control that kills people, so it is good to see a motoring organisation like this, giving instruction in how to drive more safely.

We can’t tell if it is a fake but it is funny, as we see the attempts to recover a small van from a harbour in Ireland.

Someone has put a few photos together and made in into a sort of slide show. It does not represent what the UK breakdown cover organisation do, as they would get in these heavy cranes from a third party, if at all. Anyway watch and enjoy. Or by the way w love the Irish and have no control of the writing or music added.

We accept we should have done this earlier at Christmas time, but we wish all our readers and those who have bought breakdown cover using the links from our site a happy and safe 2009 and hope you don’t need to call out that emergency call out service

Of course there is another set of people we should also recognise and that is those staff, patrolmen, call out engineers and garage owners who have delivered roadside assistance to stricken motorists overt the holiday period, both in the UK and around d the world. Without these guys many motorists would not have seen their relatives, dropped off Christmas presents or done the charity work this Christmas. Whilst we enjoyed our Christmas break, these breakdown cover patrolmen, made sue they did their best to keep us on the road and enjoy our break, even with the inconvenience, when the car we drove decided now was the time to accumulate a fault. To you guys out there we wish you a happy and safe new year, thank you for your hard work.