Women at the wheel - No help required

Shirley Dixon, Gleaner Writer

This is the second in the Automotives five-part series in which a woman gives her perspective on driving in Jamaica.

Women cannot drive, men say. This is almost a cliché. It dribbles off the tongue like honey from a wooden spoon - and is said with a smirk, especially when directed at female motorists.

Men use it to qualify all types of scenarios, on the road even when one's driving skills - or the lack thereof - has no bearing on the situation. But I suppose for them it is a nice enough refrain to any litany of woes regarding women drivers.

I have heard it said so often that, had I not known excellent female drivers who would put any man to shame, I would be tempted to agree. I have even heard two male colleagues grudgingly admit that the two best drivers they know are women.

Ignorant critics

But back to the sad story of these 'waggonists' who think it is cool to paint all female drivers with the same 'cannot drive' brush, and who can never pass, or have never passed, a driving test!

On one of the many bashing-female-drivers chats at work, a young man, who spoke the loudest and had the most negative things to say about women drivers, admitted to taking the driving test so many times, he had to be asked to take a break before heading back to the examination depot. Yet he felt he knew enough about driving to discredit most of the women drivers he knows.

Now, how is that for male chauvinism?

So some women really cannot drive and may have bought their driver's licence, but I don't think they are driving any worse than men. From my experience - over 25 years as a driver - many commit much greater atrocities on the road than women.

Example 1: You would rarely see a woman make a third lane on a two-way road in order to get ahead of everyone and create more congestion.

Example 2: Women (and most would be too timid) tend not to overtake a long line of traffic and then cut in suddenly on you when another vehicle is coming

Example 3: Women would think safety first before overtaking blindly around a corner on a country road. Every time I drive to the country, I see men doing it.

Example 4: Men seem to stop more suddenly without indicating, as if they are daring you to run into the back of their vehicle. Women tend to put on their indicator too far in advance which, although it can be dangerous, is better than not indicating at all.

Example No 5: Stopping in the middle of the road to hail up them brethren seems to be cool among male drivers.

And the list could go on.

Because of the popular notion that women cannot drive, every Tom, Dick and Harry feels he's to offer some help to the female motorist, especially when she is parking or reversing. Now don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and I actually enjoy male chivalry. But because they assume you are a novice without the requisite skills to park without hitting someone or something, they feel it is their responsibility to help.

Some are not drivers, but they feel compelled to jump behind the vehicle, waving their arms. If I don't ask for your help or I am not in danger of causing an accident, please do not try to direct me. I really hate it.

Another popular thing for men to say when they are 'beaten' on the road or when someone 'bad drives' them is "it must be a woman". This is as annoying as it is irksome. From my experience, men are guilty of the same infractions on the road as women, but they seem to derive some orgasmic pleasure from saying "it must be a woman".

I stopped one day to let out a driver and he looked shocked, so much so that he forgot to thank me. When he was half-way down the road, he remembered to 'pip' me. This pre-conceived notion of women 'not giving bligh' can work for and against the male motorist. Women just will not do it, because they are not expected to.

In the final analysis, there are good and bad male and female drivers on our roads, so let's just be courteous, stick to the law and have a nice ride.