On 22 March, the first meeting of what would become the
Singapore
Automobile Club (SAC) was held in a room at the
Singapore Exchange.
The first club outing took place on 16 June. This was a
photo-taking
session outside the Singapore Club at the Fullerton
Building. Formed
with just 56 members, the SAC later held Singapore's
first motor
rally.
1932
Merger of the Malayan automobile clubs created a single
motoring
organisation across the Malay Peninsula. The
organisation was named
the Automobile Association of Malaya (AAM).
1938
Appointed by the government to issue the International
Driving
Permit in the Federated Malay States. The Singapore and
Johore
Branch assigned a road scout (on motorcycle with
sidecar) on Johor
roads. They were required to patrol between Johor Bahru
and Ayer
Hitam and Johor Bahru and Kota Tinggi on alternate days.
Organised the first Singapore Trophy Speed Trial along
Farrer Road.
The race was won by Lim Peng Han in his L.A. Special.
1940S
Launch of its first Emergency Breakdown Service in Singapore
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1940
Published the first AAM Handbook for the members. It
contained
useful information like driving tips and road maps at a
time when
such information was scarce.
1949
Published the first AAM News Bulletin.
The Singapore and Johore Branch launched its first
Emergency
Breakdown Service in Singapore.
1950S
Automobile Association of Singapore was formed
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1952
Singapore separated from the AAM to form the Automobile
Association
of Singapore (AA). The AA joined the Alliance
International de
Tourisme (AIT), an international federation of motoring
organisations.
AA began offering low-cost motor insurance.
1954
The Association’s News Bulletin was renamed The Highway.
1954
AA introduced Singapore’s first free 24-hour Radio Road
Service.
Emergency calls were channelled to breakdown patrols via
a central
control unit, reducing response time.
1960S
Singapore's first Multi-storey carpark opened
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1960
Organised the first public road safety programme.
Displayed safety
messages at petrol stations and screened Safety First
slides at
cinemas.
1961
The first recorded AA Road Safety and Courtesy Driving
Competition.
1964
The Market Street multi-storey carpark opens. This took
place after
a long campaign by AA to introduce such a carpark to
ease parking
problems in the city.
1967
Official opening of AA House by then Interior and
Defence Minister
Lim Kim San. The three-storey building constructed on
the land at
336 River Valley Road had been bought years earlier by
the
Association.
1970S
The first AA Autoventure!
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1972
The first jackpot machine, also known as the “One-arm
Bandit” was
installed at AA House.
1975
AA attempted to get support from members to protest
against the rise
in Additional Registration Fee (ARF). AA received about
1,500 member
responses but unfortunately it was not sufficient enough
to create
an impact.
1977
Singapore hosted 79th General Assembly of the Alliance
International
de Tourisme (AIT).
1978
AA House was engulfed by two fires. The AA moved to
Lloyd Road while
AA House was torn down for the construction of AA
Centre.
1979
Organised the first AA Auto-Venture™. Members drove from
Singapore
to Pattaya, Thailand.
1980S
AA Vehicle Inspection Centre Opened
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1982
The AA Vehicle Inspection Centre (AAVIC) in Eunos opened
its doors
to Singapore motorists.
1984
AA Centre was officially opened by the then Law
Minister, E W
Barker.
1989
AA commissioned a study on car growth and traffic
congestion and
provided land transport recommendations to the
Government.
1990S
Launched the Automatic Call Distribution System
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1991
AA lobbied to make COEs non-transferable to protect
motorists’
interest.
AA also proposed for “weekend cars” to be driven from
7pm instead of
8pm.
1996
AA launched its official website which aimed to improve
communication flow between motorists and the
Association.
1998
AAVIC moved to bigger premises in Kaki Bukit to meet
motorists’
growing needs.
1999
Launched the Automatic Call Distribution System to
increase response
efficiency of the breakdown crew.
2000S
AA Celebrated its 100 Anniversary
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2000
Began the Provisional Membership scheme to provide
Vehicle Recovery
to motor traders like Cycle & Carriage and SM Motors.
As part of its strategic plans, AAVIC at Kaki Bukit was
sold.
2002
First in Singapore to enlist Global Positioning System
(GPS)
auto-tracking and despatching system for Vehicle
Recovery Services.
2004
Partnered with overseas motoring clubs to introduce the
Show Your
Card & Save® (SYC&S) programme, offering members
discounts on
dining, travel, accommodation and entertainment at
thousands of
locations worldwide.
To better service members, AA opened a Branch Office and
Command
Centre at 2 Kung Chong Road.
2007
AA celebrated its 100th Anniversary with many firsts in
AA’s history
and raised more than $500,000 through 3 key fundraising
events –
Charity Golf, AA Members’ Dinner and Charity Gala Dinner
for 12
adopted charities and non-profit organisations. Here is
a quick
glance at the year's key celebratory events and
activities:
March - Offered a 3-year AA Membership for $100 nett
29 April - AA Centennial Charity Golf at Tanah Merah
Country Club
with the then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong as
Guest-of-Honour
raised more than $250,000 for our beneficiaries.
6 October – AA celebrated 100 years of motoring with AA
Members at
the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
16 November – AA raised some $250,000 at the AA
Centennial Charity
Gala Dinner graced by the then President of the Republic
of
Singapore, His Excellency Mr S R Nathan at The Ritz
Carlton,
Millenia Singapore.
Published the coffee table book, Motoring Beyond 100,
which tells
the story of AA and how it has evolved over the last
century to
become the leading voice of Singapore motoring
community.
2008
Organised the first Wheels-n-Reels, an iconic event
where AA Members
participated in an island-wide treasure hunt and ended
the day with
a drive-in movie.
2009
A new chapter in AA’s Auto-Venture™ history as we
organised the
longest road trip to Lijiang, China.
2010S - now
Formation of Singapore
Automobile Club
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2012
Celebrated AA’s 105th Anniversary and held a Charity
Gala Dinner
raising a grand total of $700,000 for three adopted
beneficiaries.
The dinner was attended by Guest-of-Honour Prime
Minister Lee Hsien
Loong.
2013
For the first time in Singapore, AA Singapore introduced
the Senior
Motor Plus insurance plan to meet the needs of senior
drivers.
2014
AA moves out of River Valley into GB Point and held its
Official
Opening in April 2014. AA outlet at Pearls Centre was
relocated to
51 AMK and opened on 28 June 2014.
AA Autoventure organised a first-of-its-kind 30 day
driving tour
across Japan – 30D29N Fly-Drive Cross Japan Tour.
2015
AA Singapore organised the inaugural Asia Pacific Road
Safety and
Mobility Conference. In celebration of SG50, we
published The
Motoring 50 coffee table book, chronicling 50 facts
about the
motoring history in Singapore. The year ended with
Wheels, Reels and
Carnival 2015, a two-day event comprising a Heritage
Drive, Drive-in
Movie Screening and a Carnival.
AAS Academy was launched to provide Crash Prevention
Programme for
drivers.
2016
AAS Insurance Agency (AA-IA) established new partnership
with Tokio
Marine Life Insurance Singapore Ltd. (TMLS) offers Group
Term Life
Insurance.
AAS Academy was accredited as the first International
Road Transport
Union (IRU) Accredited Training Institute (ATI) in both
Singapore
and Asia.
2017
On 16 January 2017, AA held its Groundbreaking Ceremony
for the
redevelopment of 2 Kung Chong Road.
AA celebrates its 110th Anniversary with these
major key
events:
110th Anniversary Drive to
Malacca, Ipoh and
Penang
Safe Driving and Mobility
Conference
AA 110th Anniversary Dinner
AA Autoventure organised one of its
longest
trips - 43D42N Autoventure to Xin
Jiang, Tibet
and Everest Base Camp.
2018
AA organised the Overseas Safe
Driving Forum
with the theme “One Life Lost is One
Too Many”
to raise awareness about driving
safely overseas
following a spate of accidents
involving
Singaporeans overseas.
AAS Insurance Agency launches AA
Personal
Mobility Plus for Users of Personal
Mobility
Devices and Bicycles.
AAS Academy’s flagship course –
Crash Prevention
Course – was approved for enhanced
funding by
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).
2019
In line with AA Singapore’s
digitalisation
efforts, the new AA Membership
e-card and AA
Highway website was launched for
members.
AAS Insurance Agency launched a new
Motor
Insurance for Young or New Drivers.
AAS Academy held the inaugural FIA –
AA
Singapore Smart Driving Challenge
2019 to
promote safe and eco-friendly
driving.
AA Autoventure embarks on longest
ever
expedition drive from London to
Singapore in 92
days.