WHY SOME WOMEN DON'T DRIVE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 15 July 1925, Page 9

WHY SOME WOMEN DON'T DRIVE

i.ml’.vi’ii>;n r m'sr. wns to isla.mk Till' CAB AS A FAMILY ih.ka sij j; k (B ■, Qh ir!-\s S C!t.if- Sydnov Sun) Why don't. ;-yi fetch you? tvifa to drive 'iTi;• t is a que.-timi often asked of ti:e cai' owner who. instead of teaching his. wife to drive. leaves the ear in the garage all the week, while his wile dues her shopping with the help ( 1 a bus ui a tram or a t rain.

Invariable il is the woman who asks Ihe i|liesticn of the "selfish'’ husband, but it i.-- perhaps her ignorance—she has iirUT heard < I the li u.- ba in I's attempt to make a car driver of his wife.

Many husbands who pride themselves on their patience have attempted li.i impart car knowledge to their wives, but how many have succeeded '! It is only in isolated eases, where the. wife is the inline force in the domestic make up that any success Inn? crowned the instructional elicit,, of the husband. In cases where the husband is allowed to .'■peal, bis mind, the lesson gencially fizzles nut when he discovers that his wile cannot master the steering. and persistently heads for the nearest kerb. All women,, where there is a cat in the family, should learn to drive it. Bur. hm-bands should net lie asked to teach

I (heir wives. On account of smile peculiarity in human beings. husbands were 5 never meant to teach their wivi s any- ■> thine where patience is the main attribute needed in the man. ' Teach another man’s wife, perhaps, 1 arid you will find her an apt pupil, but i never ycim own. and this is. rho advice of lan experienced married motorist, who has given his wife lessons in tln* art of i drum;.;'.

li- seems io lie fairly correct. although a census of opinion has never been seemed from mot, lists as a body. but ■ follow a mail m a ear tcachin'; a ladv lo drive, and by bis words ye shall know him. The number of women drivers- as compared wifn men is far below the proportion, and perhaps tilt 1 scarcity of patient husbands isi the explanation, ■'still, some interchange of wives could he' arranged, and it remains for an enterprising representative of sale's interests to bring aland such a. state, as undoubtedly the women's influence would bring about the reward in increased car stileu sooner or later. The number of women who don't drive is a matter for comment. Hundreds of women there are who share

the car with the family, and the tnapnuvy of them believe that they could never drive. And the ones who have had a lesson from hubbv are more than ever convinced that, they will never lie the master of the ear. This is entirely wrong, as evidenced by the women who have believed this and yet have heroine efficient drivers. See them to-day winding through the crowded streets, oblivious to tilt! struggling crowds ilmosl climbing on the ear's fetid cm Their nerve is equal to that ol the man. And why not? The woman makes a splendid driver, perhaps more cautious than the man, ntul in this respect better fitted for driving. And there are those who have more nerve than tlu> man. and \**iieii we meet a.

really wild lady driver—well, she is wild to tire extent of being a menace. But such cases are isolated. Chug along the road behind a car which seems to be going slowly and you can bet a woman is at the wheel. Overhaul it and you find your prophesy was rigid. just-over-cautiousness —a. really good point, but an annoyance to the impatient male, probably a husband. Apart from the impnlienl husband, who has given his wife the opportunity lo learn to drive, we have the man who' won't teach his wife to drive because lie j ■ s afraid that the traffic difficulties of J the day might be too much for her. He I remembers the difficulties which he ex- 1 perieneed as a novice, and he also forgets that lie overcame them at the same risk, a risk greater when oensidered from the wife's viewpoint. There are the men who might say: "Why worry about losing your wife in a traffic tangle': - ' hew would be serious enough to mean J that, and there are more men who are ' .simply afraid to teach their wives for the reason that motoring is full of hazards, and only the experienced can ) survive. 1

Tins is erroneous. and with careful tuition tho woman can l)t> made equally efficient- as the man. Naturally, the woman - .;, first difficulty in learning to drive is her natural timidity. To attempt to teach her In upbraiding her for foolish mistakes it; to increase this timidity, until she gives; up, completely broken in spirit. This is an argument against the husband as a teacher, and it is a great pity that the woman is not encouraged more as a driver—and bv her husband.

With husband and wife sharing the car as drivers the pleasure to both justifies the expense, and the more drivers in the family the better the argument for increased car sales and prosperity to all.