Mapping it out

They say men are from Mars and women are from Venus. But I doubt many blokes would be able to find their way to the red planet unless they had a woman directing them.
In recent times that age old chestnut has become very apparent to me. What turns a mild mannered husband and father into a snarling mess once he gets behind the wheel in unknown territory?
This year, thanks to the Global Financial Crisis and the requirement to clear accumulated leave, has seen us undertaking a good deal of travel.
There has been a road trip from Melbourne to Coffs Harbour, a six week trip to the United States and another road trip from Melbourne to Canberra.
They have not been without highs and lows but what counts among the lows has been the inability of our driver, when lost, to stop.
How hard is it to stop the car and (a) consult a map or (b) ask for directions before you become hopelessly lost?
I know, from a quick scan of the Internet, that I am not the first and won't be the last person to ponder this question.
In New York, a city of millions of people, do you think the man of the house would stop to regroup while we got our bearings? Do you think he would go up to someone and ask for help? No way.
I was always cast as the damsel in distress to lead us out of the wilderness.
Over the years academics and relationship experts have explored his weird phenonemon. I read something that said men do not like to stop and ask directions because they don't want to surrender control. I think a few divorces would be avoided if they just fessed up that they had no idea where the bloody hell there were.
In our recent travels to Canberra we drove around the London Circuit - a circular road as the name suggests - a number of times before the driver furiously declared we were lost and why wasn't I directing him.
I probably should not have threatened to cause physical harm with the road map.
But I have found a way to get around the problem for our next holiday. I have booked a fully escorted tour and he won't have to look at a map. Then, we'll have to find something else to fight about.