I was an American Automobile Association member for a number of years, rarely looking at its magazine, which mostly touts vacation spots supplemented with an occasional tip on safe driving and highway laws. I liked their highway assistance program and excellent maps. The internet has supplanted many people’s use of their personalized trip routings.

I was put off by the article Rebuilding America’s Transportation Infrastructure in their Nov/Dec magazine, which lauded the interstate highway system—“AAA intends to focus its time and resources on working to ensure the voice of the motorist is not an afterthought as new transportation policies and funding proposals are discussed.” The truth is, very little of our vast US transportation infrastructure been brought to us through the will or grassroots input of the American public.

When I heard about Better World Club, an alternative auto (and bicycle!) club on WCBE’s Car Talk radio program, I checked it out at www.betterworldclub.com. There you can read or subscribe to their e-newsletter Kicking Asphalt (yes, it’s a bit rowdy). Their toll-free phone number is 866-238-1137.

BWC’s monthly column AAA Watch has some surprising information. In 2006 the AAA Auto Club of Southern California officially came out in opposition to California's Proposition 87, which would have imposed an extraction fee on oil companies drilling in that state. And on 12-14-06 The Oregonian stated, “AAA AutoSource sold vehicles in Oregon claiming its auto brokering services were 'free' when they were not. AAA's AutoSource admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $50,000 to the consumer protection fund, plus hidden fees it allegedly charged several thousand customers.”

AAA collects billions of dollars in fees and annual dues. “They lend support to an agenda-in favor of road building, against pollution control and even auto-safety measures...They say they are speaking on behalf of their millions of members, but most of the membership doesn’t even know that they lobby…Politically, the main ‘emergency assistance’ AAA supplies is to its allies in big business, who piggyback on the club's wholesome, noncontroversial image.” ~Harper's Magazine, May 2002.

In the 1950s, AAA helped win approval for the interstate-highway system, 41,000 miles of fresh roadway servicing over 90 percent of congressional districts. In 1990, AAA fought the strengthening of the Clean Air Act. In 1997 they assailed an EPA proposal requiring states to reduce levels of smog and soot, and in 1999 they opposed new rules that required cleaner exhaust systems for cars and trucks. AAA puts even more energy into lobbying states and localities. The club spent years battling stricter vehicle-emissions standards in Maryland.

For all their talk about auto safety, it seems they have never lobbied for it.  At one point they even opposed mandatory air bags.

Besides Better World, other auto club or roadside assistance programs are available. Auto club benefits may be available or free within your vehicle warranty. Some credit cards have roadside assistance programs. If you are stranded and don’t know whom to contact, you can call 800-622-7747 and MasterCard will contact a roadside service for you. They charge standard fees for fixing a flat, unlocking a vehicle, towing, etc.