Even if one discounts the fact that about 90 per cent of drivers are men, men account for over 99.8 per cent of Delhi’s traffic accidents. Women, therefore, obviously do not deserve the widely held opinion that they are dangers on the road... although some people might quibble that many of the accidents by men were triggered by the distraction from lady drivers.
Ian Fleming was perhaps closer to the mark when he had James Bond saying that women were much more careful drivers than men when they were driving alone... but not when they had company. He explained that women needed eye contact for affirmation of what they were talking about. Women drivers were, therefore, much more dangerous if there was another lady sitting beside the driver and positively hazardous if there were ladies sitting in the rear of the car.
On the whole, women are much more cautious and do not take the daring risks that their macho male counterparts seem to so enjoy. They hate the prospect of accidents and the agony of the subsequent street-side arguments, police reports, etc. Few women are really very interested in cars and driving and these few can be excellent fast drivers.
Women are terrified when their men start accelerating behind a lumbering truck, watching a fast approaching bus and then whizz through a brief traffic gap with just inches to spare. Shrieks, complaints, mockery and angry words usually follow.
Men, similarly, find it very irritating that women drivers, while overtaking, will wait ages till the road ahead is absolutely clear and will then leave a wide space of at least a metre between them and the vehicle being overtaken. Needless to say, they have to make several abortive tries before succeeding. The mounting frustration of the male passenger, furiously pressing imaginary accelerators and brakes, often ends also in mockery and anger.
Driving does not require strength and women are just as capable as men. Fast driving does, however, require intense concentration. Sterling Moss, one of the world’s greatest race drivers, was a very slow and cautious driver off the racing circuit. He drove in a defensive cocoon of total concentration fully aware of the risks in every direction. Most women are just not that interested in driving. They have many other priorities with families, home, romance, social life, clothes, vanity, etc. Few have that male ability to forget everything else and focus upon a dirty old road.
To be continued...
The writer is an automotive expert and the former editor of a national magazine