Men Lose Money By Not Asking For Directions

CANVAS STAFF REPORTS - If men get lost coming back from their Labor Day weekends, a new study suggests they will lose more than their wits.

AOL News reports that men waste more than $3,000 in fuel costs because they refuse to ask for directions.

That is the result of a new British study that was released as motorists prepared for their holiday weekend. The study was commissioned by British insurance company Sheila's Wheels, which discovered that male drivers travel about 276 unnecessary miles each year because they won't ask for help.

The survey also found that about a quarter of men wait at least half an hour before asking for directions. About one in 10 men won't ask a stranger at all.

Contrary to men, about three-quarters of women have no problems asking for help. About 37 percent do so as soon as they realize they are lost compared to 30 percent of men.

The survey gave a little more insight into men. More than a third would rather ask a woman than a man for directions.

Another study reported on by the UK Telegraph hints that they may be the smart ones. Experts watched 30 men and 30 women giving directions at a gas station as they asked local motorists if they knew how to get to a nearby tourist attraction.

Women took more time while men paused significantly. A quarter of the women, three percent more than men, gave entirely accurate directions, while half of the women guessed correctly how far away an attraction was.

The study was led by Jennifer Ewald, a linguistics professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

USA Today said there are likely to be more travelers this year partly because of stable gas prices and an improved economy.

AAA Auto Club predicted a 10 percent increase over last year with about 34.4 million people likely to at least travel 50 miles.