Don't get me wrong, the Alcoholics Anonymous  is not getting their members to ride Honda motorcycles. In this case, it's the "other" AA, the Automobile Association of the UK, known as "The AA" .
The streets of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow are getting Honda Silverwing 600 and NT700VA Deauville motorcycles (or motorbikes as they are called in the country where they ride on the wrong side of the road).
It's part of the AA's rapid response effort. By introducing a fleet of two wheel patrols, the motorcycles are able to get to the scene of a breakdown much quicker than there 4 wheel equivalents.
Using motorcycles makes sense in densely populated cities with snarling traffic jams. Since 23% of breakdowns are caused by flat batteries, and 13% are tire problems, with many of the remainder of problems, small issues that can be often fixed by a mechanic arriving on a motorcycle. So there's no need to have a car or van arrive on the scene unless really required.
Edmund King, President of the AA, says: “As up to 15 per cent of drivers are stuck in queues during the morning peak, we want to make sure that our patrols are not stuck in the same queues. A broken down car often causes disproportionate congestion so we want to get to those cars and get them moving as quickly as possible. In our experience, two wheels are better than four in beating congestion and we’re delighted to have Honda motorcycles included in our fleet. AA members should get a faster service and all motorists should benefit from us being able to remove broken down cars that add to congestion. The AA wants to be part of the solution to create freer flowing traffic in our major cities.”
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