Lost in America: Research Shows Men Ask for Directions as Often as Women; AAA Study Reveals the Myth Behind the Stereotype

ORLANDO, Fla.--Dec. 1, 20053, 2005--With more than 63 million people projected to travel by car during the upcoming Christmas-New Year's holidays, it is reasonable to expect that more than a few of them will get lost. The good news for those wayward trekkers is new research from AAA suggests that, contrary to popular belief, men are just as likely to stop to ask for directions as women are, and there is no real difference in the genders' likelihood to get lost when traveling together.

"Men get lost and seek help at about the same rate women do despite, or perhaps because of, decades of hearing, 'Honey, just stop and ask for directions,'" said Jan Coyne, director, AAA Geographic Information Systems, the area responsible for AAAmaps.com and Internet TripTik(R) on http://www.aaa.com.

"The perception that men are more reticent to ask for directions may stem from the fact that when couples travel together, men do the driving 78 percent of the time," said Coyne, referring to a 2001 study by the Federal Highway Administration.

In the AAA study, men who were lost stopped to ask for directions 34 percent of the time and women, 37 percent, figures that researchers say are too close to conclude that a difference exists.

Couples in the study often tried to find the correct route themselves and most were lost for less than 30 minutes before getting back on their way. A scant 0.5 percent were lost for more than four hours, and another 0.7 percent never did make it to their destination.

To help the directionless find their way more easily, AAA suggests travelers plan their route ahead of time using a dependable online mapping service such as AAAmaps.com, http://www.AAAmaps.com, or Internet TripTik(R), http://www.aaa.com.

"It also is a good idea to have a paper map in the car as a back up," said Coyne.

More good news from the study is that, by far, it appears that Americans are not getting lost very often. Out of more than 2,000 randomly selected U.S. adults in the study only 156 reported being lost while driving with their spouse or significant other in the past two years.

And being lost doesn't always have to be a bad thing. After all, when Columbus got lost, he discovered America.

AAA Geographic Information Systems updates and releases more than 1,700 maps annually for use in online mapping services, AAA TourBooks(R) and TripTiks(R), and as sheet maps and atlases making it one of the largest mapmakers in the country. AAA has been publishing maps since 1905.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 48 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.