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| By Katelyn Gendron Reminder Assistant Editor WEST SPRINGFIELD On March 4, 1902, a group of over 1,000 charter members established the American Automobile Association in Cleveland, Ohio, to draw attention to the limited number of roads accessible for automobile travel. Last week, the American Automobile Association, now called AAA, marked the 80th anniversary of its national traffic safety department, formed in 1928. This not-for-profit organization with over 51 million members has established a variety of programs and safety initiatives in order to promote motorist safety, far beyond the initial call for suitable roadways. "AAA is committed to the safety and security of motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and children," Sandra Marsian, vice president of marketing and public relations at AAA Pioneer Valley, said. "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." Marsian noted that the first driver education training began in 1935 and has evolved into such programs as Skid School, a one-day course designed to put teen drivers behind the wheel to learn accident avoidance and evasive maneuvers. "Any extra time you can get [teen drivers] on a closed course [to learn accident avoidance] will benefit them and the rest of us [drivers] as well," she said. Marsian explained that the focus of the AAA Pioneer Valley is teen driver safety because it is one of the top three causes of teen deaths in America. She also noted AAA's work with those on Beacon Hill to pass the Booster Bill earlier this year. The bill requires that children ages five to seven and shorter than four feet, nine inches tall to be buckled into a booster seat while traveling in a vehicle. "It's a blanket law meant to keep kids safe," State Rep. James Welch said, adding that statistics have shown that strapping small children into vehicles with seat belts made for adult passengers is highly ineffective. "[The law] will eventually save lives," he said. For the past 60 years, the AAA has also worked with local students with their School Safety Patrol a program designed to promote pedestrian safety specifically in school zones. Students are nominated by school faculty to become advocates for peer safety. Approximately 550,000 students have been sponsored as Safety Patrollers, including President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton, according to the AAA Web site. Marsian said that the AAA is also working on a "Slow Down and Move Over" legislation that would require motorists to reduce their speed and pull over in order to allow emergency vehicles to pass expediently. Marsian noted that AAA Pioneer Valley is also focused on senior drivers and senior mobility. In 2003, the organization launched "Lifelong Safety Mobility," a variety of programs to help aging drivers predict their own functional deficiencies that could lead to accidents. Marsian said future endeavors for AAA Pioneer Valley will be to address the need for road repairs throughout the Northeast. "In the Northeast the roads are in rough shape and state and federal monies are not going to roads. It all affects all of our abilities to travel safely and conveniently," she said. For more information about AAA go to www.aaa.com. |