From the Department of Useless Trivia: The Republic's 80,000 AA members who are in line for a £240 windfall when the motorist's friend floats has a very interesting history. Founded in Britain, its initial aim was to help motorists avoid police speedtraps. Members paid two guineas a year for cyclists to patrol the roads and tip off drivers about policemen hiding in the bushes.

However, the police soon started booking patrolmen for obstruction, so the AA developed a new signal - the AA salute. If a patrol scout failed to salute a member, identifiable by their yellow car badges, it warned of a speed-trap ahead.

The association was actually formed in June 1905 when 90 motoring enthusiasts met at the Trocadero restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, London.