Men Drivers and their Ego

These Men Drivers…...They can be Really Irritating……
One busy Monday morning and I’m going to the office with a friend who is kind enough to give me a lift. Well this kindness is forced out of him most of the days . We are listening to some FM station partly because he is addicted to this noise and partly because we have run out of conversation. There are two people enthusiastically conducting a ‘discussion’ on “Are women bad drivers?”. My friend is immensely pleased with the topic and is ecstasic that such an important issue is being discussed. And every time a male chauvanist calls up to share his experiences with bad women drivers, my friend gets excited. Then he says, “Women are really bad drivers. I’ve seen women doing make up, combing hair and all that while driving”. I just smile at the occasions where I have seen our hero changing the FM station, searching for his sun glasses, talking over the mobile phone - all while driving. Well he is a man driver and there is nothing gender specific about any of these things that he do. The discussion continues on how women park at the wrong side, jump lights, and make all kinds of mistakes. I’ve seen my very own friend overtaking from the wrong side and giving the explanation “Everybody does that”. Well he is a man driver and it is not a mistake but a calculated risk!
Then some celbrity who was called to offer her views on the matter explains that women are preoccupied with matters of family, children etc so they may not be able to concentrate on driving. Does that mean married men do not think about their families? Or may be men drivers have a way of inducing some kind of Short Term Memory Loss when they get behind the wheels!!
Flash back…..
I’ve just come back from college. And my dad asks, “How did you get to the bus stop?” “A friend gave me a lift”. My dad is not smiling, “Why did you come with her? You know these girls don’t drive well.”
Now to be frank, I do not drive a vehicle. For some reason, it did not occur to me that I should master the art. But I know many women who drive, and who drive pretty well. I always felt more comfortable taking a lift from Biji, an old friend, than anyone else. I remember many people - Biji, Nitya, Miss Savitri and many others - whom I thought where pretty good drivers. I’ve also seen men drivers behaving strangely when they find a lady over taking their vehicle. There are people who take it up as a personal insult and try to regain their position. This display of ego often result in accidents.
Then I decide to do some research. I run a google search on the biggest accidents that ever happened on earth. And found that all of them happened at the hands of men drivers. Then I looked up at accident rates and related data and found an ‘msnbc’ research report which even says that women drivers are much safer than men!!!!
Why then do these men drivers have so many jokes at the expense of women drivers? Why don’t they ever hold an FM discussion on “Are men drviers good enough?” ? May be it is only a fear of loosing their exclusive status. It could very well be their insecurity speaking up.
Whatever it may be, my dear men drivers, the sooner you learn to face the fact, the better for you. And all girls who drive,my dear friends, you are capable of doing a great job. Never let a man driver’s ego to make you doubt your ability. You are really good in this job, may be much better than many of those men drivers. Cheers to all women drivers!!!!!