Well, apparently there’s an environmental and economic case to be made for men just shelving their egos temporarily and asking for directions when they don’t know where they’re going. According to the British Insurer Sheilas’ Wheels:
The average male motorist drives 276 miles each year while lost – because he’s too proud to ask for directions.
If the research is to be believed, one quarter of men put off asking for directions from passers-by for at least half an hour, with one in 10 refusing to ask for help at all. According to insurers Sheilas’ Wheels, this “lost” driving time comes with a price, resulting in men wasting up to [$3,110] worth of fuel over their lifetime.
I will say, in defense of men who do this, that there is a vast gray area between knowing exactly how to get somewhere turn-by-turn and being truly, where-the-hell-am-I lost. It’s reductive to think there are just two states: “lost” and “not lost.” When I have opted to feel out directions rather than ask or try to get somewhere on memory and intuition, it’s usually because I had a good idea of where I was going without knowing exactly whether the next turn is supposed to be before or after the underpass.
Anyway, the classic vignette of the stubborn guy refusing to ask for directions while the girl gets increasingly exasperated is probably a drama of the past what with all these smartphones around.
Via Treehugger
