I am getting fed up with MapQuest. Recently I printed out directions from the company’s website to get to a location with which I was not familiar. I was told to take an exit that didn’t exist and then, when I’d worked around that problem through a couple of “creative” u-turns, was taken on a route that was actually in the opposite direction from where I needed to go. Fortunately I knew enough of the side streets that I was able to work around the main problems and get close enough to where its directions were actually helpful. I can’t imagine how someone from out of town would have been helped. They’d probably be standing on the steps to the Jefferson Memorial asking passers-by for directions. It’s a free service and sometimes you get what you pay for.
In that vein, I have discovered Google Maps (maps.google.com) and am very impressed. It’s the kind of free service that might put ADC or Rand McNally out of business. All you do is input an address and up pops a very clear map of the area that you can then print out and use to get you around. It shows which streets are one-way and allows you to guide yourself if you happen to make a mistake.
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We talk about teen driving in this space from time to time and I ran across something the other day that I thought was interesting and worthy of consideration. There is a program in Jefferson City, Missouri called the Team Spirit Leadership Training Conference. It’s sponsored by the state department of transportation and it lasts three days. The goal of the program is to educate these students (mostly high school juniors and seniors) about traffic safety issues and to have them become cheerleaders for the cause when they get to school. Nothing works better with this age group than the peer-to-peer approach. It seems like something that might be worthy of trying out locally.
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Ross writes with a very good idea for those at the local highway departments: “In theory, having your headlights on when driving in the rain/fog is a state law, but I suspect most of the enforcement takes place post-accident. On the interstates in the built-up area there are those light boards used for traffic messages, Amber Alerts, etc. I’d recommend that when we have bad weather conditions to add a message to about turning on your headlights. This would serve as both a reminder to those endangering the rest of us, and as a courtesy to those from other states that might not have that law. Keep up the good work and keep the info (& traffic) flowing.”
Since so many states now require the use of headlights anytime the wipers are on I’ve always thought that automakers should start linking the wiper switch to the headlights. That way anytime you turn on your wipers your lights would go on and you wouldn’t have to think about it. There’s really no downside.
