Bank holiday parking signs confusion
Festive cheer will run out from Boxing Day onwards as sales shoppers face bank holiday parking signs confusion. Getting it wrong could add a penalty of up to £130 to the cost of Christmas, the AA warns.
(26 December 2011)
Drivers say AA yellow is safest car colour
More than a third of AA members believe lighter colour cars are the safest. Yellow tops the car colour safety poll followed by white and red, an AA/Populus survey reveals.
(22 December 2011)
Drivers play the great Christmas petrol price postcode lottery
Average petrol prices have fallen to their lowest for nine months. However, drivers in many parts of the country are paying a Scrooge-like £1 or more extra per tank compared to those in other areas, December’s AA Fuel Price Report reveals.
(16 December 2011)
End to red tape driving licence headache
Frustration for travellers who forget the paper counterpart of their driving licence when hiring a car will end with the purge of red tape announced by the Government today.
(15 December 2011)
November fuel price update - nothing mild about winter diesel prices
Diesel car owners have seen no benefit from falling oil prices, with the average pump price up more than a penny a litre over the past month. The cost of petrol has dropped slightly, opening up a price gap between the two fuels that has never been bigger except during the extraordinary price spikes of 2008.
(18 November 2011)
M25 - 4000 AA rescues per mile over 25 years
Marking the 25th anniversary of the UK’s most important motorway, dubbed the ‘road to nowhere’, the AA has released figures showing that it is fast approaching half-million call-outs getting drivers back on the move again.
(28 October 2011)
October fuel price update - autumn chill hits UK pump prices
Heading into autumn and winter, petrol and diesel prices are at levels never before endured at this time of year. This follows summer prices that, compared to those in 2010, averaged 17.5p a litre higher for petrol and 19.7p more expensive for diesel, according to the latest AA Fuel Price Report.
(21 October 2011)
Half term travel advice - up to 15 million cars on the roads
The last break for families before Christmas means that friday could be one of the most congested days on the motorway and trunk road network in England and Wales, according to Trafficmaster, with the AA predicting up to 15 million cars likely to hit the road.
(20 October 2011)
Patrol rescues 7ft boa constrictor in Harlow
Patrol Darren Foster of Chelmsford was assigned the job which came through as: ‘7ft boa constrictor snake stuck behind dashboard; member will handle the snake, just need dashboard removed.’
(27 September 2011)
Racing the satnav
A majority (55%) of younger drivers with a satnav try to race their satnav’s estimated journey time, latest AA Populus research reveals. Overall, more than a quarter of AA members with a device try to beat the technology.
(23 September 2011)
September fuel price update
Oil price volatility and a weaker pound have prevented pump prices from following the traditional downward trend that usually marks the end of summer motoring, the latest AA Fuel Price Report notes.
(16 September 2011)
Streetwatch 3 - the big pothole count
The AA is asking its army of Streetwatchers to go out in early October and record existing potholes, ones that have been filled in but may reappear, failed utility roadworks, uneven footpaths and potentially dangerous manhole and drain covers.
(9 September 2011)
Banning referral fees
We are pleased the reforms being put forward by the Minister will tackle the growing claims culture which is one of the main drivers of rising car insurance premiums
(9 September 2011)
Blue is most popular choice of car colour
As new plated cars hit the forecourts, the AA expects to see an increase in blue cars as blue is the colour most drivers would choose for their car if they have a choice, closely followed by silver and black. Brown was the least popular choice followed by gold and yellow.
(1 September 2011)
New car sales - more families hang on to their cash
With car registrations having declined for 13 consecutive months according to SMMT figures, car retailers will be hoping that the new '61 plate' (new registrations from September 2011) might bring a reversal in fortunes.
(30 August 2011)
High pump prices force one in four to limit fuel spend
Near-record petrol and diesel prices are forcing more than one in four (28%) AA members to restrict the amount they spend when they refuel the car. That rises to more than 40% among less well-off drivers.
(30 August 2011)
August bank holiday traffic and travel advice
Depending on the weather, up to 16 million vehicles are likely to hit the road this bank holiday weekend. Traffic will build up from mid-afternoon on Friday (26 August) as people take advantage of the final weekend of summer and the diverse range of leisure and sporting events.
(23 August 2011)
Home electrical safety - children's bedrooms are potential danger zone
Many children's bedrooms are potential electrical danger zones, according to new research from the AA's Home Emergency Response Service. Although children have a large number of electrical appliances in their rooms, one in three (31%) is rarely or never supervised when using them.
(22 August 2011)
August fuel price update - wholesale petrol down 3p, pump price down less than 1p
Average UK petrol pump prices have fallen less than a penny in the past week despite falls in wholesale prices equivalent to at least 3p a litre, the latest AA Fuel Price Report reveals. With many drivers finding fuel costs increasingly unaffordable, the need for transparency in the market is now beyond question.
(18 August 2011)
The top-ten summer breakdowns
Since June AA patrols have dealt with 57,000 punctures, 14,000 overheated cars and 8,000 drowned or missing keys, but if you do the basic checks and get your car serviced regularly you can avoid a summer breakdown.
(17 August 2011)
8 million Britons have returned from holiday to a domestic disaster
If you take some simple precautions before you go away you can reduce the risk of coming home to a domestic disaster such as water leaks, pest infestations or power failure. Over eight million Britons have previously come back from holiday to domestic disasters like these.
(11 August 2011)
Hitchhiking - has it reached the end of the road?
The AA questions whether hitch-hiking has reached the end of the road in the UK as the number of drivers unlikely to stop has increased from 75% to 91% in the last two years. Only 1% of drivers have hitch-hiked themselves in the last year.
(8 August 2011)
Roadside roulette - the cost of driving without breakdown cover this summer
You could be in for an expensive shock if your car breaks down without cover this summer as arranging one-off emergency assistance from a garage costs up to six times as much as annual roadside assistance - last year drivers without cover spent an average of £172.67 calling out a garage and getting their car fixed.
(25 July 2011)
Summer getaway - expect a busy weekend on the roads
Drivers can expect a 50% increase in journey times on popular routes today and over the weekend as the majority of schools in England and Wales break up for summer, according to AA Roadwatch.
(22 July 2011)
Dedicated police insurance fraud unit welcomed
Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime and costs around £16 million pounds a week so the AA's insurance director, Simon Douglas, has warmly welcomed the formation of a dedicated 35-strong insurance fraud unit by the City of London Police.
(13 July 2011)
Summer drink driving - new campaign launched
There are more temptations to drink and drive in the summer months with the lighter evenings, festivals, barbecues and garden parties, as well as holidays. So we're continuing our joint anti drink driving campaign with Pernod Ricard UK to encourage people to 'accept responsibility' when it comes to drinking and driving this summer.
(12 July 2011)
Petrol and diesel sales drop by one billion litres in Q1
Filling stations sold one billion litres less petrol and diesel in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in pre-credit crunch 2008. Milder weather, including the ninth warmest February on record, means that snow disruption was barely a factor.
(8 July 2011)
Keith Miller crowned breakdown patrol of the year 2011
Car nut Keith Miller from Burgess Hill, West Sussex is the AA's 2011 roadside Patrol of the Year. Local managers nominate roadside patrols for the award every year and shortlisted finalists are put through an intensive day of technical and driving tests, panel interview and mock live TV interviews at the AA's training centre in Leicestershire.
(27 June 2011)
Glastonbury 2011 - How to tackle car park mud
AA patrols have already been in the thick of it at Glastonbury helping festival goers in the car parks. To help those struggling to escape the mud afterwards, our Land Rover crews have put together some tips - with light-hearted music suggestions to pass the time.
(24 June 2011)
The Great British Motorist - 150,000 drivers tell it like it is
The AA's Great British Motorist report looks at motoring opinion since the start of the Coalition Government. Some 200 questions have been asked, ranging from serious motoring issues like drink drive limits (the majority support lower limits) to the best song to drive to ('Bat out of hell').
(21 June 2011)
Petrol and diesel prices back on the rise
The latest AA Fuel Price Report shows that, although mid-June's average UK petrol price is almost penny a litre lower than a month ago, it has gone up a third of a penny in the past week.
(17 June 2011)
Level crossings - more drivers taking illegal and dangerous risks
Remarkably an increasing number of drivers are taking illegal and dangerous risks at level crossings. Network Rail has said near-misses with trains increased from 140 in 2009 to 161 last year - a jump of 15%. On International Level Crossing Awareness Day the AA is taking the opportunity to warn drivers against playing Russian Roulette on crossings.
(9 June 2011)
Easter and Royal Wedding weekend traffic and travel
The Easter break is expected to be one of the busiest on the roads for several years, as millions take advantage of the quadruple bank holiday period, according to AA Roadwatch and traffic information specialist Trafficmaster.
(13 April 2011)