Online Maps
It should come as no surprise that the internet has changed how we use maps entirely. The internet has changed how we fundamentally look at information. So we now go to the computer first and to paper resources as a last resort. That is true of encyclopedias and dictionaries. So it is true of maps as well.
Online mapping services do so much more for you than giving you a layout of the city or state you are traveling through. You can have the online software actually lay out the best route that you might take. By entering your starting address and the ending location, the online web site will actually lay out in detail your route from your driveway to the parking lot of your destination. While these calculations are not always 100% perfect, they do pretty well. Along with the route with both a map with a red arrow showing you the route and printed directions, the directions including distances so you know how far to go to look for your next turn.
The only thing missing from free online mapping services is dynamic information such as road closures due to construction or slow downs due to wrecks. But many of these services are beginning to combine with GPS organizations to give you that information if you become a subscriber and pay a fee for that extra convenience. The first time you are spared spending four hours in a traffic jam will more than pay you back for the cost of that subscription.
You can access these online mapping services from your mobile device if you wish. But many people simply choose to print out the maps they need and that replaces the cumbersome fold out map that you probably have in the glove box. This is so much more efficient for point to point planning of a trip. The old fashioned method of laying out a huge map on your lap in the car and trying to spot where you are and where you are going has been vesting improved on because you can now print off just the sections of the map you need.
Maybe even more helpful is online maps allow you to zoom on the map you are working on and print different versions of the same map at different levels of detail. So you can make a packet of travel information with a map showing the point to point lay out and then maps as far back as the entire state along with maps at a closer intensity so you see the streets around your destination. This packet is tremendously more helpful when you are driving than one map of the entire region. While online maps may never completely replace the standard fold out kind, they provide a lot of functionality that was never available before.