Before Criticising Women Drivers, Question Men For Rash Driving

Why are women drivers taken as a joke? My friends often share reels in which women drivers are made fun of for their poor driving skills. What is more disturbing is the fact that the reels homogenise and declare that women in general cannot drive. But we women defer agreeing. And we have experience and research to back our claim that women are better and safer drivers than men

According to a recent study, male drivers accounted for 99 per cent of hit-and-run cases and only one per cent of them were women. 18% of people who were mowed down in hit-and-run cases were women. Studies conducted earlier have also shown that women are safe drivers because they refrain from rash driving or breaking traffic rules. Women drivers exceed speed limits 12% less than male drivers and practice hard braking 11% less. In the US, 72 per cent of the penalty points for breaking traffic rules were imposed on men in the year 2017. While women are more cautious and tend to wear helmets, set belts and mind the speed limit.

To make the picture clearer, let me cite a case. Recently, in Delhi, a car with five drunk men hit a 20-year-old woman riding a scooty and dragged her for 12 km. Moreover, another woman was hit by a car near a bus stop because of which she went into a coma. These cases happen more often than we read on our phones. Many of us brush them under the carpet by saying that these are just a result of bad luck or bad driving. None of us look into the deeper issue - gender discrimination on the roads.

Gender Bias On Roads

Society feels free to criticise women for bad or ignorant driving. It is ready to ask them to not hold the steering because they don’t belong there. I am sure you too have come across memes on women drivers. But how many of us question these? How many of us try to actually focus on what society or the internet is peddling without any research? How many of us raise questions and muster the courage to differ?

It is very convenient in our society to put blame on women.  They are considered soft targets that will never fight back. On the other hand, men are never blamed for their actions because of the privilege invested in them by patriarchy. They are exempted from every criticism because well men will men.

This is the reason why no one raises a finger at men for rash driving or for the frequency of hit-and-run cases. No one questions men for breaking traffic rules to protect their fragile male ego. No one asks men whether they consider the road as their territory where they get to decide how things work.

Women might not be the best drivers but they are certainly safe drivers. The reason behind the lack of skills in driving is the idea of never taking women seriously as drivers. Families don’t consider it important for women to hold the steering. They assume that it is a man’s job to drive. And so, women lack access to proper training. Even then women prove to be better drivers than men. Men who receive proper training fail to ensure safety on roads. The duty of a driver is not just to sit behind the wheels but also to ensure the safety of people inside and outside the vehicle. In fact, I believe the drivers who ensure safety are good drivers.

So dear society, before questioning driving skills, question your sexist mindset. Before criticising women for lacking driving skills, see the research and reality. Don’t always blame women- maybe she doesn’t know how to drive or walk on the road. Women are not as immature as society projects them to be. So ask men to stop speeding before asking women to be careful.

Views expressed are the author's own.

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