AAA study reveals the myth behind the stereotypeWith
an astounding number of people projected to travel by
car for vacations this year, 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, responsible for AAAmaps.com and Internet TripTik®
on 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 re-searchers say are too close to conclude
that a difference exists. Couples in the study often
tried to find the correct route them-selves 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 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
or Internet TripTik®.
"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® and TripTiks®,
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.
(Source:
AAA)
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