My impression is that most people, unless they have some job or circumstance that routinely presents them with requests for direction such as gas station attendent, hotel clerk, or rental car agent, will give rather unreliable directions in response to unexpected requests.
What I do notice that's different between directions from men and women is somewhat different than what this quote from the article suggests. I hear women give more landmarks and visual details ("turn at the post office, across from the shoe store"), and men give more directions and distances ("north on I35 for five miles, then east on Smith Road.")
Similarly, men do better getting to a strange location using a map; women do better hearing someone tell them what they'll be seeing, as they travel there.
When I'm traveling, if I loose my orientation, then I'm lost. When my wife is traveling, so long as she sees something familiar, she'll get there.
I can find anything with a map. I am awful at following someone else’s direction. IMO, of course, that’s their fault. :)
MapQuest has been a great boon for me.