From tyre changers to tyre kickers Lyndal Redman has been able to change a tyre since she was a teenager. Picture Tait Schmaal Source: News Limited MORE than one-in-three men can't change a flat tyre, according to latest RAA figures. Of the 50,000 calls to RAA patrols in the past three years for help to change a tyre more than 18,000 came from male members, RAA records show. While most men once prided themselves on their ability to carry out basic car maintenance, changes to technology and attitudes mean many now grab a phone instead of a spanner to keep their vehicles on the road, the RAA said. VIDEO: Step-by-step guide to tyre changing Lyndal Redman, 34, says she broke out laughing when she recently passed a tradesman standing next to his car watching an RAA patrol member change his tyre. "The other day I was walking down the Parade (at Norwood) and saw a worker's ute with a flat tyre - I came back about half-an-hour later and the RAA was changing his tyre, it cracked me up," Ms Redman, who was taught by her father how to change a tyre when she first began to drive as a teenager, said. Changing a tyre is physically involved but once you get the nuts loose and change the tyre its not that hard - especially for blokes with muscles. Ms Redman, a video production manager, said she had changed many tyres and doesn't "know why you would drive a car without knowing how to do it." RAA spokesman Mark Borlace said he wasn't "necessarily surprised" 37 per cent of flat tyre call outs were for male drivers. "Some 20 years ago you had a spare tyre, jack and a wheel brace - now you can have a jack that is hard to locate and a spare that is smaller than the tyre it replaces and if you haven't changed a tyre in the past few years its getting all to hard for some people," he said. And jacking a car can be one of the most dangerous things you can do - a report a few years ago showed up to 7 people a year are killed when cars fall off jacks. Mr Borlace said DIY car maintenance in general by owners - such as changing oil and filters and spark plugs - was on the decline. "Manufacturers are trying to place a cover on everything under the bonnet," he said. He said manufacturers only encourage drivers to maintain items like windscreen washing bottles. A break-down of RAA call out data shows men last year were responsible for more than 235,000 of 300,000 roadside jobs. The most common cause of RAA call outs were for engine and battery problems, locking keys in cars and wheel and tyre problems. RAA tips for changing tyres: DRIVE to a safe location to change the tyre LOOSEN the nuts on the flat before jacking up the car PUT on the hand brake before placing the jack at the specified location on the car SLIDE the spare tyre under the car near the flat tyre in case the jack falls DO the reverse with the flat tyre once removed PLACE the flat in the spare wheel well in the boot - if it doesn't fit secure it safely so it doesn't slide about.