International Driving Permit

I may or may not be getting an international driving permit before I head out. It all depends on whether I have time to get down to an AAA office (I don't believe you need to be an AAA member. Do you?). If you're an American who wants to get one for an upcoming trip, check out this web site. It even has a printable application form for you to fill out ahead of time.

Isn't it kind of weird that AAA, a private company, would be issuing something like this? I thought that the state DMV offices would handle it. The DMV site is actually where I began my search for information on this and I got pointed to the AAA link above.