If you've ever asked the why of DIY, you must be one of the privileged few. Especially when it comes to cars. What is astonishing, though, is the HUGE number of women who don't know how to change a tyre by the side of the road.

When faced with the question, women play off the embarrassing question by saying, "Oh, I call my husband/significant other/mechanic when that happens ... " or they go into the "my insurance has roadside? assistance" or the 'I-am-a-paid-up-AA-member' mode. They crack me up. Really.

An impromptu office survey - and no surprise here - revealed that only 30 per cent of the women interviewed actually knew what the 'jacky thing' was and where it was located. That stat is potentially horrifying. What was even more shocking is the nonchalance many women exhibit about their lack of knowledge.

Why is this so? Of the 30 per cent that did know the correct procedure - and showed the willingness to get the job done - say that in times of need, they only have to look distressed and some good Samaritan-type male motorist is always going to stop and help them.

Assets help

How often does it happen? Cheree(not her real name) has said that in her 17 years of driving, she has never had to change a tyre. Good maintenance? Nope. Chalk that one up to a set of great-looking legs and a chest that just won't quit.

Most conscientious males have significant others, right? And most females in that situation who own a vehicle have been taught by their spouses, okay? It is just that in these days of sophistication and equality between the sexes, the notion that women would actually become ... ahem ... dependent smacks of injustice.

Remember, these are the same waifs that scream from the mountaintops that chivalry is dead!

Let's take the social brainwashing to another level. How many women stop to help change tyres when men are in need? Further, how many men stop? And here comes the ice-cream headache: How many men would accept help from a another man when changing a tyre? That's the reason for the lack of male longevity right there ... .

So in a bid to restore balance in the universe, here are the steps to changing a tyre modelled by a lovely looking lass. If you read veeery carefully, you just might avoid having to hang around like a damsel in distress - in full-fledged bootylicious mode - waiting to hear tyres screeching from a knight in shining armour - or worse, the potential leering leech.

Real name withheld.

mario.james @gleanerjm.com

Now, we will dispense with the rudimentary stuff. All those things in front of Kamere - the spare, two tyre irons (a hook with a long end plus a wrench for actually pulling nuts, better known as a lug tool) and the infamous 'jacky thingy' are in the trunk. As for Kamere's white pants and spike-heel boot, I, too, was worried. Could our intrepid model reach the end of this pictorial without asking for help?

Now, grab the wheel with both hands and pull. Careful, it ain't exactly light.

One of the trickier parts of changing a tyre while dressed in spike heels and white pants. Here, Kamere shows the correct position and posture when lifting heavy objects. Look at how her knee helps to slide the tyre over the bolts. She's a real pro!

And they say women are the weaker sex?

Kamere shows how to assemble the tyre irons to make the tool that turns the jack. The flat end of the part with the hook goes into the slot on the lug tool. It ain't rocket science.