Auto clubs can be very useful for motorists. They can provide maps and travel information, and provide roadside assistance should your car become disabled. Some clubs can even help with international travel, providing such things as reservations and driver's licenses.
Perhaps the best known of the clubs is the American Automobile Association, although it is by no means the only one. The United States Auto Club also is very prominent and even some department stores have expanded into the auto club business.
Perhaps the biggest news in the area of auto clubs has come in the past few years. Many car companies have established emergency road service plans, offered only to owners of their cars--as a perquisite of owning the marque. For example, if your Mercedes quits in Outer Boondock, help is as close as a toll-free call. If they can't advise you how to get under way on the phone, a mechanic will be dispatched from a nearby dealer who will perform the necessary repair on site.
Regular auto clubs, although they try, usually can't live up to that kind of performance. In fact, the days when you most likely need road assistance, such as the morning after the first sub-zero night when your battery is dead and you desperately need a jump start, are the days when everyone else needs emergency assistance. The result is frequently a five-hour wait for help from a person who is about fed up with all the rantings of people who can't understand why it took so long when he's been out there doing his best.
But perhaps the best service an auto club can provide is maps and travel information. Nothing can ease your trip more than a well-marked map with clear instructions about intersections and possible road hazards, such as construction or bad weather. Listings of lodging and restaurants in an area you've never seen before can be invaluable for avoiding fleatraps and ptomaine palaces. To many, this service alone is worth the membership dues. But, don't be to eager to shell out your hard-earned cash just for these services, since they can be found very easily on the Internet.
