Why “driver”? It’s time we embraced “driver-ess”
Yes, I am a male. No, my fellow men, the end is not nigh.
Just to clarify, I’m not at the whim of my significant other. We are just trying to change the age old prejudice that women are worse drivers than men.
The fact is, when we think of a person driving a car, most of us picture a male driver. This bias against women is as old as advertising itself. Car commercials always show the man as the one in charge and the woman in a passive role. We just assume that men are the ones who will bear the responsibility of driving the car whereas the woman will always be in a passenger role. This blatant generalisation by our community at large does nothing to help the woman driver’s case.
You know what, why don’t we use history to explain what we’re on about. Back in 1888, Karl Benz, the inventor of the modern automobile, didn’t trust his machine to work over a long distance. To prove him wrong, his wife Bertha Benz, an astute businesswoman and inventor herself, drove their newly patented automobile a distance of about 106 km, without letting him know. Now, if a woman can handle an automobile better than the inventor of the machine itself, it should not be a problem for us progressive people, either.
Okay, some of us might not care what happened a century ago. Let’s move on to some recent data. In a study conducted in 2011, 12 fatal accidents were caused by women in Delhi, against 724 by men. Women drivers were involved in 53 injury causing accidents while the number for men was 2,524. Even in accidents which did not cause any injuries, the male-female ratio was 284:4.
The authorities confirm this as well:
British driving instructor Neil Beeson, said: “In my experience men have always been the best learners and usually performed better in lessons. However, it’s possible that women have retained the information better.” (source)
“Women are more diligent students and are interested in learning traffic rules carefully. They are perhaps more hesitant and cautious but that is better than rash driving,” said Gaurav Kaghait, senior instructor at New Star Motor Driving College in Kalkaji. (source)
This data shows the factors taken into consideration when purchasing a car. Safety is clearly the more responsible choice than looks, and as you can see, women give a greater preference to safety features than men. (source)
The truth is, women have not been given a chance to prove themselves. Instead of branding women as poor drivers, it would be wise on our part to introspect and see if, in fact, we aren’t the ones at fault for making them uncomfortable on the road. Men have been driving for years and years, and we think it is time people grew up and gave women the benefit of the doubt.
