Who uses maps anymore?

[chrisinhouston]

I took 4 of my grandkids to Galveston again this week and on the way home my 12 year old granddaughter was sitting in the front passenger seat talking to me. The other 3 had fallen asleep from all the fun and fresh air. Kirstyn got bored and asked if she could clean and organize the glove box. I said that was fine and she started pulling out stuff and asking me if she should save it or not. I told her the owner's manual, insurance and inspection papers and any car repair receipts should be saved. She pulled out a map and asked what it was. "It's a road map" I said, "looks like Lousiana." She pulled out another, it was a map of North Carolina and then she found one for Texas. "What are they?" she asked again. "MAPS!" I said, "like for when you get off the main road and want to know where to go to get home or where you were headed."

"Why wouldn't you just use your phone?" was her response. I chuckled to myself and almost didn't offer an answer. I figured it had been a few years since I had even looked at those maps, most were pretty dog eared and worn. "Well, if you were in an area with bad cell service you couldn't use the phone." To which she replied, "what about your GPS? Doesn't it work off of satellites?"I had no answer. I think next time I wash and vacuum the car I will just pitch those maps. They were probably the free ones they used to give out at the state line welcome stations.

So, do any Cellar dwellers still use old fashioned paper road maps?

[Lamplighter]

Here in Oregon, and I suppose most other "western" states,
there are warnings in the winter about going off of main highways
with only "electronic" maps...battery failure, incorrect information,
loss of internet signal, etc.

Each year there are news reports of people getting lost
who relied on, or could not properly read, cellar/gps maps.
... sometimes with very bad consequences.

My G-son does a fair amount of "off-road" travel,
and topological maps and compass are routine equipment for him.

[chrisinhouston]

Yes for roads like that I would also use them. I still have some really good state atlas books that show every kind of rural road, even dirt roads and I do use them if I am out searching for interesting things to photograph or unique angles on things like mountains or valleys. I just realized that I haven't used a regular highway map in ages. Both of out cars have a GPS that is pretty up to date.

[Gravdigr]

Not road maps, but topographical ones. I like those big state atlas/gazetteer-type that DeLorme puts out for each state.



They're usually right around $20, Popdigr stole this one for $1.99.

They definitely will not fit in the glove box.

[chrisinhouston]

Yes, those are the ones I meant for when I go on the back roads to travel or take pictures. I have one for Texas and New Mexico and maybe California. Although I have noticed that my TomTom GPS is pretty good if the roads have been there for a while but not for unpaved roads.

[Clodfobble]

When I first started driving, I used those spiral-bound book maps that covered one city each. But with all the construction and growth, they would get unusably out-of-date within just two or three years. I think I threw out my last one no later than 2005.

[chrisinhouston]

We have them in Houston, they are called Key Maps. It seems like most GPS devices can get updates, sometimes you pay of they are free. I even take my GPS when we travel, I have maps for the UK, South Africa and Australia.

[monster]

ME! All the time. And the kids occasionally. There's one of the city and one of the state in the glovebox and our 17yo knows how to use them if she gets lost

[monster]

One thing I miss from the UK is the A-Z. Everyone had one (who drove). Invaluable. Close-up street map of a city in book form. Yes, I did just call it the A to Zee in my head. Which I have never done IRL as I haven't had/used one for many years. I was just going to bet that it was another thing that disappeared..... but Amazon UK still sells them. And downloadable versions.

[sexobon]

When I travel, I do an area map reconnaissance beforehand out of force of habit. I want to know primary, alternate and contingency routes of ingress and egress in case I run across spontaneous short term natural or human obstacles that I'd rather avoid which won't show on my GPS. My recollection doesn't have to be detailed, just general directions and landmarks.

I like having a paper "hard copy" to back up digital displays and to replace them altogether when they don't make the weight cut. But then I'm trained and experienced in advanced land navigation using the MGRS and the UTM system as well as orienteering. Even sans Cartesian or geodetic coordinates and topographic contour lines, a basic road map still works for me.

[glatt]

We use paper maps and also the phone. Paper maps have far more information available at a glance. That's both a blessing and a curse.

[xoxoxoBruce]

At one time I had maps galore, loved perusing places I hadn't been. Included were USGS 7.5 degree topo maps of everything within 75 miles. I had almost a complete set of official state bicentennial maps from 1976. Now I usually check Google maps before going someplace new, then TomTom on the way.

I was surprised when some people in the southwest told me they update their GPS religiously, because of new construction. In the northeast the only new roads are housing developments, they stopped building main roads years ago

[Undertoad]

Google Maps has routed me around hours of traffic delays.

It now tells you how much shorter or longer your trip will be if you take the next exit.

It tells you if an accident happens on your intended route and plans how to get around it

When I left for the theater yesterday, 35 minutes away, it told me I would arrive at 7:12pm and I did

It has its annoyances but one thing I do like is how new features and improvements just suddenly appear

[lumberjim]

Waze

[Griff]

Originally Posted by glatt

We use paper maps and also the phone. Paper maps have far more information available at a glance. That's both a blessing and a curse.

Yeah, as much as I rely on Garmin, paper maps are better for exploring an area.