Sir, - Your article "AA Report Gets Icy Reception" (February 18th) asserted, a little harshly, that the AA mistakenly carried a report of an accident off the N11 and the Glen of the Downs. I thought it might be worth explaining to your readers the procedure followed by the AA in these circumstances.
When word of an incident reaches us, it will not be regarded as confirmed until it has been seen first hand by either the AA's own personnel or an approved source. Our sources include the Garda, Local Authorities, Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann and information received from motorists using our "jambuster" and traffic lines. In addition, we receive information from AA patrols who are tracked by satellite, the AA sky patrol helicopter, the AA Roadwatch team on duty at our offices in Suffolk Street and an additional member of the team who is located at the Dublin Corporation traffic control centre.
When a serious incident has been reported such as a major accident on the N11, we will immediately seek confirmation. In the five minutes between the report of the incident which came to us via our traffic line, we spoke to the gardai twice. On each occasion they confirmed that they too had a report but were not yet able to confirm it. We therefore used the phrase "there has been a report of an accident" as opposed to the more definitive "there is an accident".
This may sound like semantics, but we have to be able to put the information in the public domain without delay. Traffic reporting by its nature requires immediate editorial decisions in relation to the reports we carry. This is because an incident can have a major impact within a very short timescale. Ten minutes can make all the difference. On February 18th, the traffic report on Morning Ireland carried the information as an unconfirmed report. It subsequently transpired that the cars involved were off the N11 on the hill coming into Kilmacanogue from Roundwood. This was carried in later broadcasts.
In our view, it would have been remiss of us not to carry the warning. - Yours, etc.,
Dennis Fisk, Director Membership, The Automobile Association, Suffolk Street, Dublin 2.