I have heard that many years ago AAA would send there customers a free map. It’s purpose was to warn drivers that if they were to have any auto problems in specific rural areas that by no means have any work done in that small town. Back then my town, Kingman AZ. had a large dark red circle covering it. Thank goodness things have changed here since then. Do insurance Co. still give out free maps, or put out any sugestions on where to find a good shop?
Thank god for “Car Talk” 
Westie
Wow, what an interesting idea! I can’t imagine any organization today would get that by their lawyers. Not that I’m sure it helped anyone very much. If you broke down in Kingman it was a long ways to anywhere else that could handle a complex job. From my childhood, it always seemed to be a good idea to break down in Utah. Their small town mechanics were easy to trust, though there must hsve been a few dishonest ones in the state. Most were willing to do whatever they could to get your vacation back on track.
What’s this “map” you speak of? Some kind of app?
What's this "map" you speak of? Some kind of app?
I was just going to say that…What the heck are MAPS.
Does anyone really use them anymore? About the only thing I like with maps is to look at them when I’m in a new place to get familiar with a place. But I haven’t used them for mapping a route in almost a decade.
I still like to have maps around as a general reference source, but using a GPS is so much more convenient than using a map that there is essentially no comparison.
I prefer maps. I like context, and maps show me where I am on the bigger picture. I can better follow along in my travels.
I need a new paper map of Albuquerque but I can’t seem to find one of those mysterious items.
I hate GPS because it doesn’t show the complete overall area. I want to see all my options not just the one that ‘‘Julie’’ decides .
Especially when planning an entire day away from home with seven stops and the least amount of miles for the whole day with the most efficient use of our time. A PAPER map allows me to see the whole route and not waste time going back and forth.
Before I begin a trip, I look at a map of the area(s) that I will be traveling through, in order to get a general orientation. Then, by entering the address of my destination into the GPS, I can choose which of the 3 routes it offers me. Unless I first checked a map, it would likely be difficult to choose the best one of those 3 routes for my purposes.
I still like paper maps. My parents would always get an AAA TripTik for road trips and I loved learning to navigate with them.
http://ww3.aaa.com/travelviews/2013/03/07/triptik-80-years-and-counting/
This got me thinking…
Went shopping …
omnimaps.com has paper maps for me to buy.
( of course tightwad me would like to find the ol’ free gas station one )
I used my son s gps once. it took me to a gas station that had apparently been closed for years and led me to a dead end that I was supposed to be able to drive thru .
I like google maps tho. you can see the whole world almost from that little google mobile.
its like site seeing all over the world from your chair
GPS is one option but limited. If you want to see the bigger picture, you use googlemaps or something similar on your phone or tablet. A paper map?? left those behind when I moved out of the cave…
Gee, I just picked up a WV and VA map at the AAA recently when I had to go get something notarized. GPS is great for driving, but maps are better for planning…and it’s hard to compete with free, isn’t it!
Also, I’ve had problems where the GPS gives really sophomoric directions. Like–on a trip from Pittsburgh PA to Deming NM, from Amarillo to Las Cruces NM, it has you take I-40 W to Albuquerque, then S down I-25…when the correct route is, leaving Amarillo, SW on US-60 to US-70, through Hereford, TX…Roswell NM…Alamogordo NM…then pick up I-25 in Alamogordo.
It’s both quicker AND 65 miles shorter! And, unlike the rest of the (more populated) US, US-routes are still the primary transportation routes out there, so they’re around as fast as the interstates.
Of course, that means you have to travel through Hereford, TX, the cattle town better always left upwind. If AAA ever “marked” maps with towns to avoid, they should show a nose with a red circle and slash through it right on top of Hereford!
Don’t some GPS units let you pick…
Shortest trip by miles ( small roads more direct ) -or- by driving time ( interstates and throroughfares ? )
( don’t use mine often enough to know )
Yes, but my Magellan GPS kept you on I40/I25 even if you used shortest, as does Mapquest (of 20 minutes’ ago.)
I guess that there’s a algorhythm that states, “over N miles, keep 'em on the interstates,” which might make sense in most of the US, but NOT in sparsely-populated southern NM.
See, not only is it pretty easy to outthink a computer, it’s even easy to reverse-engineer why the computer makes mediocre decisions! So to all the self-driving fanboys, for instance, you can plainly see that synthetic logic is still pretty “paint-by-numbers-ish,” after all these years.
I like paper maps. if electricity failed for some reason, a lot of people would be almost helpless, mostly younger folks. I like to plan ahead for trips and write down all my route numbers and cardinal directions ahead of time. and I like the scenic routes too. a peaceful 3 hr rural drive is preferable to a two hour traffic filled ride to me.
That map sounds like a recent edition of the Green Book.
http://gadling.com/2012/04/21/the-green-book-a-guidebook-for-the-age-of-segregation/
I still have my 2006 trucking atlas.
Gee, I just picked up a WV and VA map at the AAA recently when I had to go get something notarized. GPS is great for driving, but maps are better for planning...and it's hard to compete with free, isn't it!
I do look at Maps for the general direction and overview of where I’m going. But do NOT rely on it for the turn by turn directions.
He’s talking about the old AAA trip routing maps called “Triptiks”. Yes, the routers used to stamp various information on the routings to help the members in their travels. That’s when these were done by office staff putting together maps by hand. I used to watch them do it. Gotta remember we had people in every county of every state checking roads, towing services, campgrounds, motels, etc. for the benefit of our traveling members. Problems were reported back to the home offices. Even road conditions caused by weather were monitored by the boots on the ground. I’ve been out of the business for over 40 years so have no idea how or if it is done now with GPS, internet, Mapquest, etc. Seems like there has been a paradymn shift from hand assembled maps.
I wasn’t a fan of Triptiks. Seems like it combined the limited view of a GPS with the inflexibility of paper. What if you wanted to change your route?