Half a Century of AA Service on Motorways
The day the 8 mile Preston bypass opened, the AA was ready to help motorists. Robert Gornall was the AA’s first motorway patrol and he was on duty on the Preston by Pass (now the M6) from day one – he even attended the opening ceremony. Robert recalls that in those early motorway days, when there was no speed limit or hard shoulder, things were very different when it came to dealing with breakdowns.
Robert said: “This was entirely new and when we reached a broken down car we simply pushed it, bumper to bumper, out of the way to a place of safety where we could fix it – our vehicles were fitted with special rubber bumpers so as not to cause any damage. And breakdowns came thick and fast because cars just couldn’t cope with the higher speed – engines just simply blew. The vehicles we used were Ford Escorts and even a soft top Land Rover.”
AA President Edmund King said: “1958 really was the start of the motorway age of motoring. Britain’s every growing band of motorists increasingly found they were able to stretch the boundaries of work and leisure when unthinkable journeys of the past gradually became the norm.
“Perhaps we should now be asking ourselves about the next 50 years – are we going to continue to invest in our motorways to build on their success, or do we want traffic to return to those places that the motorways by-passed? Will motorways become high tech with electronic control of cars to maintain their distance or USA style multi-lane freeways?
Motorway facts
The AA, the UK’s largest motoring organisation, was already 68 years old when Britain’s first motorway opened in 1958. That milestone however was probably the most significant event for Britain’s growing population of private motorists.
Motorway music
Is it the end of the road for road pricing?
Is it the end of the road for road pricing? Two thirds of motorists say that they would not use proposed high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, according to the AA president addressing The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) seminar on road pricing today.
The new survey1 showed 65% of 7,380 AA Populus panel members said they would not use HOT lanes. Conversely 28% said they would use the lanes on occasions and 3% said they would use them all the time.
Raised speed limit
Even if they had the option to use the lane when in a hurry and the speed limit was raised to 80mph, only 35% would but 51% would still not use it out of principle.
These lanes, in which car sharers go free or those alone pay a small toll, were proposed by former Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly when she published Roads – ‘Delivering Choice and Reliability’ in July2. The Government and new Transport Secretary, Geoffrey Hoon are looking at taking these plans forward.
In April 2008 AA Populus panel members were asked whether they supported the principle of HOT lanes and 58% were opposed (17,400 responses April 2008). This latest research was carried out to explore in more detail motorists’ attitudes to HOT lanes.
Regional variation
Drivers in London and those in the North West said they were most likely to use these lanes (37% and 34% respectively) whilst those in Yorkshire and Humberside were least likely to (25%).
In a hurry
Panel members were also asked if they would pay to use a HOT lane when in a hurry and if the speed limit was set at 80mph rather than 70mph – panel members were still reluctant with only 35% saying that they would use them. Those in the 18-34 age category (45%) and drivers in London (57%) were most likely to say they would use the lanes in these circumstances.
Safety concerns
The proposal for having a higher speed limit in a HOT lane is not a firm one from the government but AA Populus panel members were in no doubt that there would be some safety concerns with 64% either somewhat (21%) or strongly (43%) agree that this sounded like a dangerous idea.
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