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Fasten your seat belts
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___The folks at Firestone Tire Co. must have had some extra research dollars to send down the road. They recently commissioned a nationwide survey of driving habits, with a major focus on differences between men and wom
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MARK WINGFIELD
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en.
___You don’t even have to survey a whole county to know the answers to these questions. Virtually everyone knows men and women sit behind the wheel of a car differently--and with different attitudes.
___For example, when was the last time you saw a man stop to ask for directions? The moon likely was blue.
___At least we’re honest about this genetic predisposition, though. The Firestone survey found 71 percent of men admitted they do not stop to ask directions when lost, compared to 64 percent of women claiming they "often" ask for directions when lost.
___What the survey did not explore--but it would have been mighty interesting if they had--is how frequently men and women get lost. Don’t you think it’s just possible that women stop more frequently for directions because they have more experience driving around in circles?
___The inescapable differences in driving habits of men and women illustrate the different socialization patterns of the sexes. The average male wouldn’t cross the road to engage in a conversation, while the average female would stop traffic to talk to just about anyone, it seems.
___One peculiar aspect of the Firestone survey is the finding that only a small percentage of either men or women consider themselves to be aggressive drivers. As a semi-aggressive driver who likes to get places without wasting time, I struggle to understand the profile of those who putz along with no regard for holding up traffic. (If you’ve ever driven I-35 between Dallas and Austin, you know what I mean.)
___There is one way men clearly come out ahead in the Firestone survey. More than 90 percent of men knew how much air they should keep in their tires, while more than half the women hadn’t a clue.
___Go ahead. Draw your own conclusions about hot air and the roadway.
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___Speaking of hot air ...
___I can remember many times when I was the passenger on a circular journey with my husband, who was sure he could find what we were looking for just around the corner. He occasionally
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ALISON WINGFIELD
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can bring himself to pull over and look at a map, but heaven forbid we ask for directions.
___Mapsco only aggravates the problem. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this tool, it is a wonderful book that breaks down large cities into bite-size map sections which even poor directionally-impaired females such as myself can understand. But armed with a Mapsco, Mark is even less likely to ask for directions.
___And Mark’s remarks about females and their need to stop and talk don’t wash in this household. I am not the Chatty Cathy in the family. There have been many times after church when the boys and I stood waiting for Mark to finish a conversation so we could go home.
___At the same time, I am unfortunately a good case study in the getting lost department. Growing up in Albuquerque didn’t help me any. There you have the majestic mountains to the east that can be seen from anywhere in town and serve as a never-changing landmark. And not only that, the city is built on a simple grid. Albuquerque has none of the changing street names and curving around to a totally different direction that Dallas and other cities do.
___Atlanta was the worst for me. With all the trees, you can’t see where you are, and landmarks, except for downtown, are hard to come by. I remember being in tears one day because I was so lost, I didn’t even know what questions to ask to find the right path back home.
___Off the highway, it’s good to know that whether you’re male or female, whether you're a regular compass or directionally-impaired, God is always there to lead us to the road that takes us home.
Mark Wingfield is managing editor of the Standard. Alison Wingfield is a freelance writer. The Wingfields moved to Texas from Louisville, Ky., where Mark had been editor of the Western Recorder, in which this column appeared weekly.
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