125 Years of Road Service

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Probably the oldest (if not the oldest) motoring organisation is the ANWB, the Dutch Tourist association. It started in 1883 when several clubs of cyclists got together and decided they wanted one national organisation. One of their objects was to fight against the prejudices of the public, as in those days cyclists belonged to the upper class. However, their main object was a campaign for better roads, although it took until 1927 before the Dutch government acted on a large scale. Around 1890 the ANWB started a lobby for better road signs. Again government didn’t respond and after two years the ANWB decided to take over the job of placing road signs. The first signs were made of wood but didn’t survive the harsh winter of 1894. Wood was scarce and the poles with the signs ended up in the farmer’s stoves. New road signs were made of iron. Around 1900 already some 200 automobiles had been registered in The Netherlands, and the objectives of the ANWB were extended to motor cars. The ANWB grew from 200 members in 1883 to 18.000 in 1900. Today the organisation has a membership of more than 3.9 million and is still growing. They are ready for the next 125 years. (the photo shows a 1900 Darracq, courtesy ANWB) (RB)

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