According to its article of association, the ADAC's responsibilities lie in the "representation, promotion and advocacy of motoring, motorsport [...] interests" and is dedicated to road traffic, road safety, road safety education, tourism, and the protection of road users' rights. The ADAC has been working closely with its Austrian counterpart, Österreichischer Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club (ÖAMTC), and is one of 78 select associations and federations in Germany eligible to file model declaratory actions (Musterfeststellungsklage).
The primary service provided by ADAC has been roadside assistance. The ADAC road patrol dates back to 1928, when the ADAC-Straßen-Hilfsdienst (ADAC Roadside Assistance Service) was established. Back then, the patrols used sidecar motorcycles. During World War II ADAC was forced to stop operations. In 1951, the ADAC started to organise assistance outside Germany. In 1954 breakdown assistance services were resumed by establishing the ADAC Straßenwacht. In 1990, the road patrol started covering the New Länder.
As of 2007, the ADAC operated a fleet of more than 1,700 yellow road patrol vehicles, nicknamed "Yellow Angels". In the 1960s and 1970s, the yellow Volkswagen Beetles were a fixture on German roads. In 2007, the ADAC deployed MPVs, each carrying a myriad of tools, small parts, and replacement batteries. As of 2020, in the case of a car breakdown, members could request assistance over the phone, over the internet, or via a smartphone app. The patrol driver, sent by a dispatcher, then calls the member several minutes before arrival.
ADAC has also provided Europe-wide breakdown assistance for heavy goods vehicles (HGV). In Germany, ADAC has used special breakdown assistance vehicles for HGVs. In other European countries, ADAC partners provide assistance.
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In 2021, road patrols and ADAC mobility partners were dispatched in 3.5 million cases. In keeping with the previous years, the breakdowns were usually due to problems with the battery.
Air rescue and medical services
As of 2020, the ADAC operated 55 air ambulance helicopters for urgent medical rescues in Germany, strategically placed so that any location can be reached within 15 minutes. Air ambulance jets are used by the ADAC to serve "Plus" members or ADAC international travel insurance customers from any location worldwide in the case of an accident or extreme illness. The ADAC also offers membership to non-German residents, having signed contracts with automobile clubs worldwide. In the UK, it is possible to have breakdown recovery through the local AA while having an ADAC membership.
As of 2022 ADAC Luftrettung ("Air Rescue") gGmbH is the largest civilian rotor-wing air medical organisation in Germany, followed by DRF Luftrettung.
In an extension of its helicopter ambulance operations, the ADAC holds shares in Aero-Dienst, which enables it to operate a small fleet of fixed-wing ambulance aircraft for mid-range medical repatriation.
Other services
As of January 2019, ADAC members could call for assistance when they had locked themselves out of their homes. This was a pilot project running in the urban areas of Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg.
The ADAC ridesharing club (Mitfahrclub) is a platform for ridesharing.
Tourism
The ADAC offers a variety of tourism and travel-related information for motorcyclists and drivers of historic vehicles.
In the course of German reunification, ADAC joined forces with the conservancy Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald ("Alliance for the Protection of German Forests") and the German tourism association Deutscher Tourismusverband to have the 2,500 kilometres Deutsche Alleenstraße tree-lined holiday route running the length of Germany designated as such.
Testing and technical services
The ADAC established its own technical centre at Landsberg am Lech near Munich in 1997. Technical tests regularly include cars, tyres, child restraint systems, pedelecs, safety helmets, and accessories such as roof boxes. New products and technologies are tested as soon as they become available. The German Federal Motor Transport Authority recognised the facility as compliant with the DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard. The testing operations are certified to ISO 9001:2015.
Research
The ADAC has been an active member of the European Road Assessment Program (EuroRAP) in Germany. The ADAC regularly publishes maps showing safety characteristics of German roads. These maps, based on EuroRAP's Road Protection Score Protocol (or Star Rating Protocol), are a measure of how well a road protects road users in the event of an accident. Data on road characteristics is gathered by driving through road inspections using a specially equipped inspection vehicle. Assessors then produce a safety star rating, which is comparable across Europe.
The ADAC has also undertaken road inspections on behalf of other EuroRAP members, including the Road Safety Foundation in the UK.
Motorsport
Both the ADAC and its older competitor Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD; the organizer of the German Grand Prix), have been members of the FIA and the DMSB. The European Grand Prix, the former ADAC Eifelrennen, the 24 Hours Nürburgring and many other races have been hosted by ADAC.
In June 2008, the ADAC suspended its involvement with the FIA over the scandal surrounding Max Mosley and his subsequent retention as FIA president.
ADAC Stiftung Sport
ADAC Stiftung Sport is a foundation set up in 1998 to promote and support German racing talent. Young racers showing potential are offered the opportunity to benefit from the support of experts and partners of the foundation. In addition to material backing, grantees are also eligible to benefit from training and coaching in many fields. In addition, the foundation also devotes funds to increasing motorsport safety and supporting non-professional racers injured in accidents.
Public relations
ADAC is among Germany's most influential associations and one of the biggest lobbying associations worldwide. Public relations activities focus on topics such as maintaining motorised mobility, traffic laws and fines, and road safety education. In recent years, ADAC has developed a growing interest in other transport operators and modes, for instance, by conducting tests on local public transport and urban cycling.
The ADAC publishes ADAC Motorwelt, one of the largest magazines in Germany. The magazine is distributed four times a year to ADAC members, and features articles of common interest to all participants of public traffic, such as product tests, safe driving tips, and places to visit by car or motorcycle. Since 2020, ADAC Motorwelt has been available to membership card holders at local ADAC offices, travel agencies, and driver safety locations, as well as Edeka and Netto supermarkets.
Road safety advocacy
In 2006, ADAC published a series of critical press releases on the issue of "driving licence shopping" – getting a driving license in another country after having one's licence revoked in their home country – and advocated the speedy harmonisation of driver licensing in Europe.
Some ADAC positions are controversial, questioning the benefit for road safety of some planned measures or rather implying the opposite. As of 2010, the club had argued its opposition to a general speed limit on German motorways by citing the finding that statistically, motorways were already the safest roads in Germany in terms of accidents, and that a speed limit would not significantly reduce the severity of accidents. In 2021, supporters of a speed limit, such as the Verkehrsclub Deutschland e. V., argued that the measure would indeed reduce the risk and the severity of accidents, and would help avoid motorway fatalities and severe injuries to the order of hundreds. In 2020, the ADAC was quoted as no longer principally opposing Autobahn speed limits and said to have ceased making recommendations to policymakers on the issue.
As of 2009, the European Campaign for Safe Road Design was a partnership between 28 major European road safety stakeholders that called for the European Commission to invest in safe road infrastructure initiatives. ADAC is the campaign's partner in Germany.
