(ORLANDO, November 20, 2012) Thanksgiving is a holiday many associate with abundant food and drink, but before picking up any glasses to drink, AAA strongly encourages you to arrange a safe ride home.

AAA works year round to educate motorists about driving practices that will help keep them safe and reduce traffic-related crashes and the injuries that can result. PreventDUI.AAA.com is an online resource offering impaired driving facts, transportation alternatives and expert advice.  Once there, AAA encourages visitors to Take the Pledge to drive drug and alcohol-free.

While not a nationwide program, a number of AAA clubs offer Tow-to-Go or Tipsy Tow services on select dates for members and nonmembers. This service is not available everywhere. AAA strongly encourages motorists to pick a designated driver before they head out for any Thanksgiving celebrations.

*Please note availability is subject to change without notice

AAA Clubs Currently Offering a Tipsy Tow Program for Thanksgiving (November 22)

• The Auto Club Group (Statewide in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Program is called “Tow-to-Go”)
• AAA New Jersey Automobile Club (Morris, Essex and Union counties)
• AAA South Dakota (Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Mitchell and Yankton)
• AAA Oklahoma (Metro Tulsa, Metro Oklahoma City, Shawnee, Bartlesville, Enid, Muskogee, Tahlequah and Lawton)
• AAA Tidewater (Greater Hampton Roads area : Cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, Yorktown and Williamsburg, VA)
• AAA Northwest Ohio ( available in Lucas, Fulton, Wood, Henry, Williams, Defiance, Paulding and Ottawa counties)
• AAA Northern California (in all club territories)
• AAA Nevada ( Statewide)
• AAA Utah (Statewide)
• AAA Arizona (Statewide)

(ORLANDO, October 29, 2012) Before setting out for any Halloween celebrations in your best costumes or trick-or-treat outfits, AAA strongly encourages you to arrange a safe ride home.

AAA works year round to educate motorists about driving practices that will help keep them safe and reduce traffic-related crashes and the injuries that can result. PreventDUI.AAA.com is an online resource offering impaired driving facts, transportation alternatives and expert advice.  Once there, AAA encourages visitors to Take the Pledge to drive drug and alcohol-free.

While not a nationwide program, a number of AAA clubs offer Tow-to-Go or Tipsy Tow services on select dates for members and nonmembers. This service is not available everywhere. AAA strongly encourages motorists to pick a designated driver before they head out for any Halloween celebrations.

*Please note availability is subject to change without notice

AAA Clubs Currently Offering a Tipsy Tow Program for Halloween (October 31, 2012)

• The Auto Club Group (Statewide in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Program is called “Tow-to-Go”)
• AAA New Jersey Automobile Club (Morris, Essex and Union counties)
• AAA Northern California (in all club territories)
• AAA Nevada ( Statewide)
• AAA Utah (Statewide)
• AAA Tidewater (Greater Hampton Roads area : Cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, Yorktown and Williamsburg, VA)

For a comprehensive list of other community programs listed state by state, please visit AAA’s DUI Justice Link Website.

WASHINGTON, D.C. , October 28, 2011

Every Halloween, monsters, zombies and ghouls fill the streets across the United States to celebrate. And if that’s not scary enough, AAA uncovered some frightening statistics. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, October 31 is the deadliest night of the year for pedestrians.

“On Halloween, motorists need to be especially vigilant between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, when pedestrians are most vulnerable,” said Jennifer Huebner Davidson, AAA manager of traffic safety advocacy. “Slowing down, watching for trick-or-treaters who may cross between cars or mid-block and designating a sober driver may save a life.”

To help make the roadways safer this Halloween, AAA offers motorists a few easy tips:

• Avoid neighborhood shortcuts. If possible, avoid cutting through residential streets where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present. When providing directions to a party, try not to route guests through neighborhoods unnecessarily.

• Watch for children in the street. Watch for children walking on streets, medians and curbs. Excited trick-or-treaters, often in dark costumes, may not pay attention to traffic and cross mid-block or between parked cars.

• Slow down. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is more than twice as likely to be killed if they’re hit by a car traveling at 35 mph compared to 25 mph. What seems like a small difference—just 10 mph—can be the difference between life and death

• Drive sober. Alcohol-impaired drivers make up about one-third of all motor vehicle deaths resulting in an average of one death every 45 minutes. Always designate a sober driver if you plan to drink. Visit www.PreventDUI.AAA.com to learn more.

A few simple steps can help parents keep their trick-or-treaters safe, too:

• Trick-or-Treat together. AAA recommends that parents accompany young trick-or-treaters at least until the age of 12.

• Make a plan. Review trick-or-treating safety precautions and plan the route ahead of time. Remind children never to cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.

• Check costumes. Choose disguises that don’t obstruct vision and opt for non-toxic face paint instead of masks. Check and adjust the length of costumes to avoid tripping and add reflective material or tape to keep kids visible.

• Buckle up. If driving trick-or-treaters between neighborhoods, always use appropriate car seats and have children exit and enter on the passenger side of the vehicle.

For additional tips to keep Halloween safe, including tips for parents and trick-or-treaters, visit AAA.com/PublicAffairs.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

ORLANDO, Florida, April 30, 2008

This week marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of AAA’s national traffic safety programs, which have helped teach generations of children and adults how to be safer drivers and protect them from crashes.

Well known as the nation’s largest organization for motorists, AAA has been 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 Robert L. Darbelnet, President and CEO of AAA. “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 driver improvement programs and advocacy efforts addressing key issues such as child passenger safety, senior mobility and teen driver safety.”

Since the AAA School Safety Patrol started in 1920 and the first driver training was developed in 1935, AAA’s legacy of traffic safety programs has continued and grown. Through the years, AAA has added programs to address important issues such as child passenger safety, teen and senior driver safety, 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 offers driver improvement programs for drivers at all levels of experience, from pre-permit and novice drivers to mature operators. AAA also provides parents instruction and guidance on teaching their teens to drive, as well as a network of approved driving schools.
• Child Passenger Safety – AAA is a strong advocate for child passenger safety and has a long-term commitment to reducing injuries and deaths through its Seated, Safe & Secure campaign initiated in 2002. Through the initiative, AAA has worked to close loopholes in child restraint laws across the nation and 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 launched its Lifelong Safety Mobility initiative in 2003 to address the mobility needs of our country’s growing senior population. Since then, AAA has developed a suite of senior programs as part of the initiative. AAA Roadwise Review is a computer-based screening which 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, an educational program developed by the American Society on Aging in collaboration with AAA, AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), 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.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com

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Key Dates in AAA’s Traffic Safety History

1902 Nine motor clubs meet in Chicago to form the American Automotive Association

1920 AAA School Safety Patrol program gets underway

1928 AAA National Traffic Safety department established

1935 AAA pioneers driver education

1936 First AAA club owned and operated commercial driving school opens in Pennsylvania

1937 Pedestrian Protection Program introduced

First edition of How to Drive manual published

1945 National School Traffic Safety Poster Program begins

1947 Creation of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

1949 School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Award program initiated

1982 AAA’s Safe Driving for Mature Operators course introduced

1989 AAA and other safety groups persuade federal government to require lap/shoulder safety belts in rear seats of all passenger vehicles

1996 Teaching Your Teens to Drive: A Partnership for Survival driver education programs introduced

1997 ABC’s of Air Bag Safety education campaign reaches more than 31 million children

2002 Seated, Safe and Secure child passenger safety initiative launched

2003 Lifelong Safe Mobility senior mobility initiative launched

2006 AAA launches online driver improvement courses