WOMEN V. MEN

Evening Star, Issue 22413, 10 August 1936, Page 15

WOMEN V. MEN

DRIVING SKILL QUESTION Keen controversy has been aroused in England by an opinion expressed by the Automobile Association recently about the comparative skill of men and women as motor car drivers. The Automobile Association said it was impressed with the large number of women owners of cars and their increasing self-reliance and technical knowledge. Women, it said, had a better record in daily motoring than men. The association’s explanation of this was that women were more “ nervous.” A certain amount of “ nervousness,” it argued, made a good driver, its interpretation of “nervousness” being “ awareness,” and not “ nerves ” or panic. The following conflicting opinions were gathered by newspaper representatives from various authoritative organisations and persons experienced in road conditions:— Insurance Companies.—The view taken by several companies was that men were far more efficient motorists than women. Women applying for policies were “ regarded in a less favourable light ” and their past driving experience and record were considered much more carefully than those of men. The companies were unanimous in their belief that as a general rule the accidents in which men were involved were usually more serious, but that women’s were more frequent. “SENSE OF INFERIORITY.”

,Royal Automobile Club.—The club considered that “ women are overwhelmingly better than men so far as summonses and accidents are concerned.” A representative made the following statement: —“Weeks go by without a woman member of the lloyal Automobile Club claiming legal defence for an accident or summons. Women, perhaps, have a sense of inferiority on the road, and therefore avoid taking risks. Undoubtedly, women are less liable to police prosecution. “Men have_ always been used to handling machinery. To women it is a novel experience and they regard it with mistrust. It is a psychological feeling''.which..is centuries old and inherited.

“ Women do not drive to anything like the same extent as men in heavy

traffic. Many leave their cars outside London iind complete the journey by Underground. Nor do they undertake the long journeys that men do. ! ’ _ School of Motoring.—The British School of Motoring found that women took much longer to learn to drive, and that they were more painstaking than men, who were inclined to want to “ mu before they walk.” Once the test was passed, however, women were inclined to be far more reckless and to take unnecessary risks. Men’s progression was much more gradual, and their danger to other motorists after passing their test was certainly not greater than before it. Women’s failures to pass the test were invariably a matter of nerves. They were frightened of the examiner, frightened of other traffic, frightened of themselves. Far more men passed the test the first time they entered for it. On the road women learners were more obstinate than men, and would not readily give way. AGE AND SPEED. A Hiring Firm. —The experience of a firm that lets out cars on the “ drive yourself ” arrangement was that when a man had aif accident it was usually fairly serious, but women were prone to more frequent, though Jess serious, accidents. They did not go in for the same “ bouts of speed,” or take such risks as men, driving more slowly and cautiously. _ Seventy-five per cent, of the accidents to the firm’s cars were due to excessive speed. Younger drivers of both sexes were much more liable to involve themselves in accidents than older drivers. The most dangerous age was between 20 and 30. ‘ Pedestrians.—Subject to various qualifications, the Pedestrians’ Association thought that women had a better record than men with regard to accidents and summonses. Generally speaking, they tended to be slower drivers, and appreciated the risks of the road more keenly—possibly up to the point of nervousness men seldom experienced. Letters .of protest from women about the excessive speed of men motorists on by-pass roads were frequent, “ WOMEN BAD DRIVERS.” From a Lorry.—A lorry driver said: Women are bad drivers, if it is fair to generalise. I would rather pass a string of buses or lorries than one woman in charge of a car. You never know' what they are going to do next. They like to stick in the middle of the road, and seem frightened of drawing in to the side to let anyone past. They stop when you least expect it, seldom give a signal, and seem never to know' their own minds. The young women arc not so bad; it’s the older ones. A Police View'.—A policeman who had been on point duty at a heavy traffic junction in the West End of London said that women were much slower off the mark when signalled forward than men. They slowed up traffic more than men, and were liable to stare around at sights wdiieli interested them instead of watching the road. The younger women were better drivers than older members of the sex.