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January \| February 2004 Volume 78 Issue 1

Member Feedback

Winter driving tips incomplete

Your article "How to Drive in Snow" (Nov./Dec. 2003) states one should pump the brakes. This is true for vehicles with standard braking systems. It is not what you do with antilock braking systems (ABS). Most vehicles now come with ABS.

-Robert K. Hoshide, Montrose

Editor's Note: This letter is indicative of numerous emails, letters and phone calls we received from readers regarding this issue. Thank you all for bringing this to our attention. We regret the lack of clarity and completeness of information. Please see page 50 for an extensive description of antilock brakes (ABS).

Sharing the road

Forty-nine years ago I became a member of AAA in Lima, Ohio. One reason I joined was because AAA was a large, influential association working for safe automobile travel and offered reliable emergency roadside service. The Nov./Dec. 2003 issue of EnCompass shows that safe auto travel continues to be a priority of AAA Colorado, but I find no reference to sharing the road with pedestrians and bicyclists.

The web site of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reflects research and programs for all modes of transportation, including walking and cycling. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) publishes excellent material on safe cycling and laws of which motorists and cyclists should all be aware.

I believe EnCompass should carry information and reminders in every issue on what motorists and cyclists need to observe to avoid collisions between bikes and motor vehicles.

-Dean Farringer, Denver

Where does AAA stand on environmental issues?

I was dismayed by your article "AAA Works to Maintain a Healthy Environment" (July/August 2003). Supporting litter clean-up and pretty scenery hardly makes you environmental advocates. Where do you stand on substantive issues, like increased fuel efficiency (CAFE standards)? And what about the massive subsidies autos receive at the expense of more environmentally-friendly forms of transportation? The cost per mile to society is hardly covered by the taxes motorists pay. I'm talking about air quality, human health, damage to forest and agricultural resources as well as the cost of highway construction and maintenance.

It's obvious that AAA is a lobbying organization for the gluttonous use of the automobile.

Please don't pretend otherwise.

-Joan Rech, Niwot

Editor's Note: AAA was formed more than 100 years ago as an association to promote the responsible, safe use of the automobile and to help facilitate a national roadway system. As the interests and concerns of our diverse members have expanded, so has AAA. Today, nationwide, AAA has taken an active role in lobbying for numerous and varied safety issues—for drivers, passengers and pedestrians—as well as support for development of multi-modal forms of transportation that will not only reduce congestion but aid in reducing the environmental impact of automobiles. AAA has gone on record in Congress to mandate increased CAFE standards without sacrificing safety of passengers for all types of vehicles, and sponsors such environmentally friendly programs such as the Great Battery Round Up, which helps motorists properly recycle old batteries.

While AAA cannot be all things to everybody, it strives to be a committed, responsible association that is always conscious of its impact on the environment.

Another winter railway

Your list of winter railway trips in the Nov./Dec. 2003 issue was incomplete. The Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway started operating winter trains in 2002. This year the trains run until Jan. 4, 2004.

-Claude A. Wiatrowski, email

Car length or three-second rule?

In the Feedback section of your Nov./Dec. 2003 issue, a reader declares that one vehicle length for every 10 mph is a better measurement for safe distance from the car ahead of you than the three-second rule.

As a professional driver, I disagree. In one informal test I did, the 10 mph concept gave only 99 feet, while the three-second rule allowed approximately 145 feet of separation.

-Kenneth Morris, email

Let us hear from you

Reader comments and questions are welcome in EnCompass magazine. A reply or comment may be printed with your letter. Letters under 200 words are considered first and are printed most readily. Letters to EnCompass do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AAA Colorado and, due to space limitations, we reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. Send letters to the editor, EnCompass, 4100 E. Arkansas Ave., Denver, CO 80222. Fax to: 303-300-7710. E-mail: editor@colorado.aaa.com. Letters become property of AAA Colorado and are not returned.

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