Perception on Ladies driving Big Cars / SUV

[amitk26]

Dear BHPians,

I went through some of threads on What Car section and while advicing cars , I saw a few posts stating xyz is too huge for ladies to drive.

Why such perception exists at all ? After all an automobile is supposed to be driven and not carried around on shoulders ( even a small car is misfit for this purpose) so how does it matter if it is big or small ?

If the concern is about muscle strength required to turn steering , In any Modern passenger vehicles with Power Steering the effort is slightly less then turning an Maruti 800 without power steering. So body frame size does not matter.

A few women in india and lot more abroad drive big vehicles.In South East Asia and even in southern Europe women in general do not have any bigger body frame then Indian women.

I request people to refrain from misguiding others by putting these kind of psychological barriers. Many people do need a big family vehical but got swayed by such advice thinking taht ladies in family can not drive them.
Vehical should be selected purely based on the needs and drivability and not based on sex of the driver.

Regards
Amit

[hrag]

The concern is not the effort required to turn the steering. From what I've heard from lady friends / colleagues etc., they are uncomfortable with the size of the car itself. They *seem* to prefer cars that don't require too much space to drive / park.

[CorsaLove]

I thought that almost all the ladies and young women liked big cars and SUV's! Especially the CRV which is mostly seen driven by Women. At least here in Bangalore

It was just an age old perception that ladies are not good drivers. This was proportionately compared to the size of the car. Meaning, if they cant drive a 800 properly then SUV is out of the question. However, this is long forgotten now and i think is not worth pursuing as a discussion.

[viper_711]

Agree with Hrag - that's what usually is the case - but can't say much as my wife used to drive a Tata Sierra in college days and my sister currently drives a Safari Dicor - If I may say so - they are both good drivers!

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by hrag

The concern is not the effort required to turn the steering. From what I've heard from lady friends / colleagues etc., they are uncomfortable with the size of the car itself. They *seem* to prefer cars that don't require too much space to drive / park.

In my wifey's case, she feels more comfortable driving the Gypsy rather than the Palio S10 in Bangalore traffic. She feels that the *perceived* bigger size and ruggedness of the Gypsy is an advantage while driving.

And just to add that the driving involves the famed Hosur Road/Bomanahalli Junction and at times I was worried about my wifey driving the Gypsy and would rather have drive the Palio S10, but I have to take her word for what she feels comfortable driving in.

I do agree that driving comfort and vehicle choice should not be generalized based on gender.

I thought that almost all the ladies and young women liked big cars and SUV's! Especially the CRV which is mostly seen driven by Women. At least here in Bangalore

I agree. My wifey just loves the CRV and has shortlisted that as her next buy. She just doesn't want to drive a sedan/hatchback..

[shajufx]

A person who cant handle an M800 on road, dont even think about giving an SUV or bigger car to her/him. Its a statement regardless of the gender. I have seen lot of aunties on New BEL road with scorpio, safari, CRV and even longer sedans like camry, accord, sonata etc. I assume majority of them might have started driving in their college days. Over the years they have mastered the vehicle and the road, so its natural control on the vehicle regardless of the size or power !

Practically speaking, SUVs and bigger vehicles have a commanding presence on road and other smaller vehicles dont mind giving way or keeping distance.

[harry10]

The only difference is in our Perception. We get many bad drivers in Male category as well however as the ratio of women drivers is unfortunately less in India thats why they get highlighted easily and male drivers are in plenty so they get unnoticed.
IMO female drivers are very well capable of driving any vehicle so its a complete myth they cant drive well.

[Steeroid]

Actually women seem to prefer driving bigger cars/SUVs - it seems to give them more confidence. My wife, for instance is more ready to drive a Jeep / Prado / FJ Cruiser around here than a Smart which one would've thought is small and manageable. We sold the Smart since she wouldnt drive it around.

[GTO]

I like women who drive macho cars . That said, most Indian women do prefer to drive smaller / lighter cars. With traffic conditions being what they are in India, you really can't blame them. Favorites of the fairer sex are Santro, Swift, Honda City and the CRV. The CRV & Santro are universal favorites.

If the concern is about muscle strength required to turn steering , In any Modern passenger vehicles with Power Steering the effort is slightly less then turning an Maruti 800 without power steering. So body frame size does not matter.

Power steering or not, an Innova requires far more effort to drive than say, a B or C segmenter.

A few women in india and lot more abroad drive big vehicles.In South East Asia and even in southern Europe women in general do not have any bigger body frame then Indian women.

Again, Indian road & traffic conditions are vastly different from other countries.

[akshay4587]

Here in chandigarh\mohali i regularly see hot chicks\women driving around in Safari's,Scorpio's and Bolero's,innova's

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by amitk26

I request people to refrain from misguiding others by putting these kind of psychological barriers. Many people do need a big family vehical but got swayed by such advice thinking taht ladies in family can not drive them.
Vehical should be selected purely based on the needs and drivability and not based on sex of the driver.

Have you ever driven the car trailing the women drivers? If yes, you will find the answer. The reflexes are also not so quick as men drivers. I got rear ended on my car around a couple of years back in Bangalore. The driver was a women. No offences meant though.

[speedy]

i knew one aunty who used to drive a Bolero. my best friend she drives a pajero (3 door) and a safari. my own aunt drives an X5 occasionally and refuses to drive any other car.
i dont think it has anything to do with their structure or frame or that they are not good drivers ( trust me some of them are better than the guys). like most of us have said it is the traffic conditions, saveing yourself the headache to find parking for a bigger car espesially when the go to the markets, that women opt for smaller cars. my mother wants a small car just for the market and has not let us change her car for that reason.
we dont put psychological barriers or misguide anyone. we put our point across and if you feel the ladies of the house can control or is capable of handling a big car then you buy it for them. my friend has even driven my Cadillac which is 16 feet long and 6 feet wide and also a left hand drive.

@ snaronikar there are men who drive that way too, so i would not hold it against a women. men and cars go together so there is the confidence, women and cars are forced together so the confidence is a little low but some do get there.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by speedy

snaronikar there are men who drive that way too, so i would not hold it against a women. men and cars go together so there is the confidence, women and cars are forced together so the confidence is a little low but some do get there.

I agree but not 100%. But when you compare, almost 80% of women drivers will the driving the same way (or wrong way). Never follow the lane rules, driving in centre of road, not giving way even if the roads are empty in front of them. If we want to overtake, then we nave to do the same from left side which is too dangerous. This is my own experience on day in and day out. I'am not informing that men does not do this, but most of them do care fror some rules. Even the BMTC drivers do give way if we ask the way....

[s0uljah]

Lets not forget many of the bharatiya nari (including me mum) learnt to drive on the good ole amby. It may not be huge but it definitely aint small!!

[sridhga]

I believe that your gender has nothing to do with your driving or the size of the car you drive, but I would like to point out in the US car insurance companies quote higher for female drivers. Just an observation.