The History of Car Badges

[Arnoldr7687]

How It All Began

Motoring had started in earnest in the early days of the 20th. Century. It was natural for car owners to form themselves into clubs, and there were good reasons. The condition of the road was abysmal at best, and only by some form of united pressure could motorists hope for improvement.

The main reason behind the formation of these early organizations was to make a stand against the antagonism shown to motorists by the public at large, the legislators and by the Police whose attitude was nothing short of outright hostility.

This was particularly true in Great Britain, because in 1895, the Locomotives on Highways Act restricted mechanically propelled vehicles to a maximum speed of six kilometers per hour (about 5 mph) on country roads and three kilometers per hour (about 4 mph) in built-up areas.
Car badges were introduced by the Automobile Association in March of 1906 to identify members and warn them of police speed traps up ahead. If the road was clear of police, the AA man would salute the driver if his vehicle displayed an AA badge. The practice was continued until the late 1960s.

Arnie Brown