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-   -   On behalf of women drivers !!!!!!! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/86134-behalf-women-drivers-6.html)

Even my wife lets me know when there is a lady driver in the vicinity. And she has driven abroad for many years (and drives when there even now). But she is fearful while driving in India.

Nowadays ladies wear helmets that cover up the entire face. Whats up with that?

Wearing full-face helmets is a good thing, I would think. Or are you saying that it does not allow for men to stare ? :)

Here's another one, My wife and I went to pick my daughter back from school. We were waiting for the school bell, Still sitting in the car. I see a lady park her bike just behind my car. and it was almost touching the rear. I moved the vehicle a little bit forward (There was another car in front of me). Got down from the car to see if there's any scrath. Luckily no :). at this point another lady parks her bike next to the other lady's bike (on the other side). The first lady comes backs, and she says in tamil "Naan intha carode ottie vitten, yaar en bike move pannathu?" she literally meant, she left her bike, sticking to the car.
God, she was upset that some one moved her bike. At this point my wife says, she'll stay next to the vehicle and I went in to get the little one from her class. We already have three scrathes on the rear end..Now we know how :).
My wife and I were actually laughing at what the lady said, However had there been a scratch, I really can't tell what would've happend there.

:uncontrol ROTFL...

This thread is unbelievable! I guess this one piled up more posts than threads of tsk1979's Leh trips (and without any pics either!!!)

Appears that Sugeeta attended Classes 7 and 10. So guys, when are you enrolling for Topics 6 & 7??? :D

I know atleast three women friend who not only are great drivers but are also pure petrol heads.

One of them is 69 years old lady who now lives in India and drove Fangio to airport once and he was pleased with her driving. And other is from Bangalore who used to race bikes and owns a souped up Black Swift by FRK.

In general going by stereotypes , women are not good drivers. But i have seen many women driving very very well. They seem to drive better than most men because 1) They dont get provoked by some poser racerboy in a zen trying to have a drag in a signal. 2) Some women actually do care a lot about their cars. 3)They are a lot more composed than Men drivers. 4) This is the most important point of my discussion, most women have zero Ego :) But im really sorry about our general perspective towards women. When ever a woman driver pulls up in a signal she gets all kinds of stares from cab drivers, auto's and the occasional pervs. There are certain Imbeciles(some whom i personally know) try following them also! .

Hi SS-Traveller,

I have yet to read your previous post.

However as far as lesson 6 goes, I am a big time sufferer of this syndrome - Men never ask for directions.

As a kid, I remember vividly, my dad never asked for directions when we travelled on the highway or even in the city, as my mom sat and fumed beside him.

At present, my husband never, ever asks for directions even when he knows very well that we are lost. In such a situation, he will drive into any road at random which at times leads into small lanes, so narrow, that in case you reach a dead end, the only way out is only in the reverse gear.

He smiles through the entire ordeal, as the kids and I fret and fume. He claims he is showing us areas of Delhi we never knew existed and is adding to our general knowledge.

Though we laugh about it later, I have to admit it is quite an exasperating experience at times. Otherwise, he drives excellently.

I jokingly attribute it to being a Geminian trait since my dad and husband both belong to this sign.

Cheers
SM

I question the necessity for Sugeeta to start this conversation. What's the need to defend her sex's driving capabilities?

Would it be required for a tbhian belonging to a particular minority community to explain why he should not be included in the "hate group" (you know what iam hinting at). Not required, since there are only 'good people' and 'bad people'. And you choose which one you would rather be.

Similarly there are 'good drivers' and 'bad drivers'. What drives one to be a good or bad driver is decided by various factors - necessity to drive, lifestyle, society, economic reasons, etc.

Regarding testosterone playing a part in the equation - well, I know some good female drivers. They look very feminine to me. No facial hair or bulging biceps. Ho hum.

Be surprised next time you travel abroad. Your 747 could be a piloted by a friendly and very feminine lady commander. Would you get off the plane citing safety reasons?

If you visit Kerala, be prepared to gawk at female autorickshaw drivers prepared to take you to your destination safely; and the whole experience is bound to be pleasant.

And Iam looking forward to the day the Indian frontiers will be secured by young ladies piloting their Su-30MKIs with deadly force (several western countries already send women to combat zones).

Logic aside, lets look at some numbers:

What's the probability of coming across a truly good driver on our insane roads - 1/10?

OK

What's the probablity of coming across a woman driver - 1/50? too much? too less? Doesn't matter

OK

Now combine the above two and you will get the probability of finding a good woman driver on our insane roads - 1/500!!!

Now you know why searching for this elusive breed is akin to hunting for dodos.

Give them some time, they are just coming out of our homes, having lived cloistered lives all along.

For our own good, lets hope the 'good woman drivers' breed increases - driving will be a lot less stressful.

Lot of care for their rides is ok
Not getting provoked by racer boys is ok, (they can't drag or race anyway even if they wanted to)
Lot more composed driving is ok
Having no Ego is also ok!

These points may be valid but none of these directly points to ' pure driving skills' and IMO women are still inferior to men in that - sorry but that's the hard reality.

By driving skills I meant things like these

- having absolute control over the car even in demanding situations

- ability to drive according to the situation rather than always driving in the same old style, or rather, by the book.

- Good overtaking skills.

- Capability to invent / learn new techniques in driving by self.

- Ability to turn steering with one hand when it is required :D (Most of the women drivers have both their arms glued to the steering and left hand does gear changing in a hurry as if something bad will happen with the steering if left untouched for few seconds. The way many turn steering is funny to watch - left hand and right hand operate in a synchronized fashion - one hand hands over one part of steering to the other, and it takes over and continue turning it and so on. All this action happens only within 30 degrees from vertical on both sides of the steering.)

I can point out many more but I guess this is enough to give a picture.

Having said these, like to also mention that some men lack these skills, in my words they drive like women.

This thread started by a lady on behalf of lady drivers has been hijacked by guys who took the opportunity to find faults with women drivers. I would have liked to hear more from the perspective of women in this thread... :)

60% of the Male drivers in India no to qualify to the above criteria. I would any day prefer Lady Drivers instead of the useless cabbies and the usual lane cutting morons. Plus there is the glamor factor involved also :) P.S ever heard of Vicki Butler-Henderson?

Hi WindRide,

I think anyone can start a conversation on relevant topics on this forum. I chose to write on women drivers:).

Background : I am comparatively new to posting on team bhp. However, not new to cars and other automotive sites. I belong to a team of working professionals, mostly from the IT / Semiconductor Industry, who have a common hobby : car aesthetics designing. Out of a group of 11, we are 5 women. We have been working closely for the last 18 years, (on at least 2 projects per year with motor companies) from the time the only vehicles visible were chiefly Fiats, Ambys and Marutis, with an odd Tata vehicle.

Reason I started this thread : NOT to attract any controversy. However, I came across a few posts on ratings provided to women drivers, funny pics of women drivers, attitudes & reactions towards women drivers on Indian roads etc., which seemed somewhat biased.

But as a daily commuter I see more and more women on the roads, with more and more of them driving well. As a part of the SW Industry, I am sure you have many good women engineers as your colleagues.

By this post, I am just trying to put across a point in a humorous manner. I think most mods and many gentlemen have got the idea behind the post.

It is cool to agree with all and be on their friends list. However, I wonder if sharing a different viewpoint makes one eligible for being added to hate lists or being compared to dodos.

With due respects to all, I am not inviting controversies, only views.please:


Warm Regards
SM

Srishiva,

These full helmets help in keeping pollution at bay.

SM

Great, there is ONE Vicki Butler-Henderson. Her grandfather, father and brother also were racers. There are countless names like this from the gender designed to handle race cars, right? :)

Vinay, as I already mentioned, there is this micro minority of exceptions.

Here is your answer :) :

After having been driven a few hundred times in company Indicabs for a couple of years now, I genuinely think we would be safer if the cabs were in the hands of women drivers.
They are are serious morons, those cabbies.
So sure, women would be slower, a lot more cautious and at times confused cabbies too, but thats acceptable if you are not running the risk of running into the back of a truck in a mad overtaking attempt.