ih ms Letters Few Cheers for the AA Viscount Brentlord

Upholding the Establishment Rev. 1. S. MacArthur, David Tribe. The Countess of Lauderdale, Col. R. J. A. Hornby, Rev. S. Tetley

Anglo-Welsh Lament R. Gcrallt Jones It's Not Just Makarios

Nicholas A. J. Philpol, John Eustace The Outsiders Miss Barbara Smoker, Sean A. Hopkins

South Africa Jan Botha, James Currey What Will Jones Swallow?

Christopher Driver, Canon T. P. BackhouSe

All Good Fun Christopher Hollis `Guardian' Guff T. F. E. Lane

FEW CHEERS FOR THE AA

SIR,—1 am delighted to accept the invitation of Leslie Adrian to reply to some of the points made in the article last week about the AA.

First, let me give thanks for the interest in our organisation and for the collection of the views ,of some of our members. Naturally, it gave me much pleasure to see that a number were kind enough to write appreciatively about the Association,'as usually it is only those who have a grumble who take the trouble to write.

On the question of our ability to speak for the motorist, we are, one way and another, in touch with about 50,000 of our members every day—not a small sample by any standards—and experience has shown that this gives us a pretty accurate knowledge of the views of the great majority of our membership on current motoring topics. It must, however, be remembered that we have more than three and a quarter million members. They do not all have the same views and the best the AA can do is to represent, as competently as possible, what we have reason to believe is the general consensus of opinion. One of our difficulties is to keep our membership sufficiently informed about all the many activities on which we are engaged in their interests, and we are at the moment working upon several schemes to try and improve our methods of communication.

The criticism that the AA 'shows needless weak- ness' in its approach to civic and political bodies is frequently due, I suggest, to an incomplete know- ledge of the very considerable work which the Association undertakes in this field. Through par- liamentary channels, through representation on official committees dealing with road affairs and through regular contacts with local authorities (to mention only the more obvious methods employed) we achieve a great deal for the benefit of our mem- bers. The fact that we do not regard it as a respon- sible attitude to oppose any and every motoring restriction regardless of the public interest, as some of our critics would have us do, should not be con- strued as lack of determination on our part to pro- tect our members from unreasonable impositions.

Without details, it is difficult to know what is meant by the reference in a letter from one of Leslie Adrian's correspondents to 'the patent unfairness of many convictions' as a result of the activities of traffic wardens, but the AA can point to many suc- cessful parking ticket cases in which its solicitors have secured dismissals for members in the Courts.

Hotel classification is undoubtedly a difficult problem particularly abroad, because standards vary so widely between one country and another. Many sources are used to arrive at the classification of hotels on the Continent, including reports from allied motoring associations and clubs. These are regularly checked against the reports of our mem- bers when they return from visits abroad. Here at

home, a special review of four-star hotels has just been completed and all appointed hotels are subject to regular inspection and report. The reason why some hotels prefer not to be appointed is because they enjoy a local specialist trade and do not wish to cater for the traveller, who is our primary concern.

In conclusion, I am grateful for this opportunity of replying to some of the points which have been raised. If Leslie Adrian will let me have more detailed information about specific criticisms, we shall of course be delighted to investigate them.

The Automobile Association, Fanum House, Leicester Square, WC2