How Tough it is For Females To Drive in India.

ParC · Jul 27, 2012

Guys,I have been visiting this forum very actively for last 15-20 days and came across many threads,articles etc where the forum members are found making fun of female drivers or showing their frustration on the female drivers so I thought why not highlight the reasons why female drivers are many times nervous or silent or even cry on the roads.I being the only active female member is now presenting my points and waiting to hear or even face your opinions and questions etc etc.

From the day I have learnt driving I have been driving myself and have driven in India,Dubai and UK varying from puny Maruti Alto to Mighty Land Cruiser.Though at every place I found that males are always more arrogant on the roads and drive like the females don’t have any right to drive on the road but in India this is to a ridiculous height.Here it seems like every male thinks like he has a higher priority in terms of road usage and expects the female to take her car off the road just to let him pass.

From the day a girl is taught driving,the first lesson she is taught is to keep her windows rolled up,run A/C for whole time and never unlock the doors of the car until she herself has to get out.Why so much boundation?Because thanks to guys who are always waiting for a chance.

My parents have been telling me to hire a chauffeur for a long time saying “It will keep you safe,not that it will add to comfort”.Why they think this?Because chauffeur is a male.

On the road,a mistake by a male is a mistake and a mistake by us means a blunder.If a guy cuts a lane then he is trying to save something but if a girl does the same then she becomes a topic on the forums.

If a guy is nervous,then he may be in some problem but is a girl is nervous then “GIRLS ARE ALWAYS NERVOUS,they do not deserve the steering wheel”.C’mon guys we are nervous,in fact we are scared of you guys.We cannot afford to roam outside for full night,we need a companion if we are driving on an empty road.We cannot afford to give lifts to any person,but this is taken another way.

In the fuel pump lines,many times guys guys from the behind look into our rear view mirror that the person on the wheel is a girl and then try to do the 4 meter drag race by trying to hard accelerate his car and enter the line in front of us we also move slowly but at the end BAM..dent.

If a girl is alone in the car then it looks like everyone needs to enter the same car,everyone looks towards the car like it’s a Rolls Royce,this always surprises me.

And guys,mind your own business why to keep on staring at us from all sides.Stop at any red light and you can easily spot at least 4-5 stares coming from any direction.It makes un uncomfortable,it scares us and then you guys say “Girls are nervous”.

This sunfilm ban-my God this ban has added to the problems even more.Now not only fellow road users but everyone is happy taking a glimpse of the thing inside the car.Arey,don’t those people have anything to do?

Accident-I think this is the worst nightmare of any girl.Guys say that no one help them in case of an accident but everyone helps the girl.I have met with accidents from scooty and car both(though none was major) and both the times I was forced to change my contact number after sometime because a lot of unknown calls started coming saying “I wanna befriend you”.This was help,take the phone out-dial your number and return it back.Half of them are not for helping the girl,but they are there to touch her,to feel her..WOW.

Guys say that the girl banged their car,once look at your face in the mirror and you will find that you was more busy looking at the girl than the road.And ended up banging her car.She can’t throw abusive language,she can’t throw hands like you guys and this is considered their weakness.

If we ask for the way then first of all the people check if I am alone by once looking inside the car and then direct us where and how to go.

If we don’t let anyone pass on an empty stretch then people think that the girl is nonsense,but maybe the girl is comfortable only because there is one more car following her on that stretch.

There are hundreds of such points which is felt by we girls only but can’t be understood by others.To know them all,you guys need to talk to your mother,sister or wife or girlfriend whoever drives any sort of vehicle.That how tough it is for a girl to be confident on our Indian roads!!

allhyundaicars · Jul 27, 2012

you mentioned some very good points and yeah i agree , there are some men out there which do all the stuff which you mentioned.

i myself have a sister and she has to drive 60-70 kilometers daily. if there was a dent , i'd just say " you don't know driving" but i too was wrong. since the last year i don't say anything like that just because it's not easy for a girl to drive and that too so much driving daily , it's not easy.

i understood this point. and i hope all others understands what you said.

there are many wannabes out there like this and unfortunately we have to live with this. don't know when they'll understand it proves nothing.

i agree , the sun film ban was a stupid idea and yes some of my friends just wanted to install a sun film just because his sister or mother has to drive the car. just like my sister. her car doesn't have any films and guys do stare and obviously this makes every girl uncomfortable.

but let me remind you , this action was taken to avoid more cruel crimes. i guess you know what i mean.

i have a mixed response to this. people are gender biased. gender discrimination can be seen daily on roads.

but i do need to remind you , all guys are not like that. my sis was once had an accident and the guy was injured. she got nervous like anyone will do. a biker stopped and took the guy to the hospital in our car. he remained there till my parents reached at the hospital. he was very much helpful.

on the other hand , you have to agree on this. if there's an accident everyone tries to take girl's side without even knowing the truth. i'm not saying this is any girl's fault but people. i was once in this condition so i believe this happens.

so it just depends in which situation a girl is and what type of people she's surround with.

vamsuduk · Jul 27, 2012

Finally. an active female member. It would be nice to hear what women expect out of cars. I'm sure there are certain different set of criteria that women expect out of the vehicles they drive than what a man wants out of it.
Unfortunately ParC sounded pretty harsh and more like "male-bashing". [;)]

However, absolutely agree with what ParC has mentioned. its the nervousness that makes women drive the way. Very often, my wife can clearly make out a car in front being driven by a woman and 80% of the times she's bang-on! Its the nervous drive that makes women end up taking tooooooo much time making turns.
Yes there's a lot of "social stigma" attached to this but frankly, there've been quite a lot of women drivers i've observed over years who handle tricky traffic very well. Including insane auto-drivers on the roads of B'lore

So. bottom line, if someone was nervous, be it male/female. they're bound to confuse themselves and other vehicle drivers on the roads.
and ParC, please be more active on the forums and keep posting your views on various things threads.

Gurrala74 · Jul 27, 2012

@ParC

Hope I agree with you !! [:)]

, to be very frank I even look when a female is driving a car who is in front of me or behind me, but I admire them driving always !! and really admire when I look at a female member like you on a forum express out everything boldly and ask for an explanation !! [clap]

I wish all our male drivers will behave well with our fellow female drivers on the road with a respectable way and give them more space on the road [:D]

dharmesh · Jul 27, 2012

I can understand what you are feeling now and what's going through your mind. My wifey started long before I did (approx 5-6 years back). But today also when she drives she is very nervous. Usually I only drive but after long drives when I am tired she drives. And she never drives alone. The only reason she have is, All people are staring at the car and her as if they want to get in any how. And to this I dont have any explaination. I have myself seen many people trying to poke inside my car when stopped at Traffic signals. Unfortunately that's our so called 21st Century forward, broad minded society where still girls have been molested on road and p0eople are happily shooting the same but no one trying to help her.

Sorry to go lil off topic. But I have mom, 2 elder sis (both married) and a wifey. So always have a anger in myself regarding this things. [anger]

But then this does not means all are same. [:D]

chayan · Jul 27, 2012

ParC, whatever you have put down is true, but not 100%. The streets are filled with idiots. How many times do you see people crossing the street illegally while there may be a overhead bridge in sight? Plenty right.
Hence what ever you have observed and written above is true to a certain point. I agree that the percentage of people who stare at a women driving is much more when compared to the percentage that do not care who is inside the car. But I can guarantee that former % is shrinking.
The more women start driving their own vehicle .. the more people will consider it a norm.

There was some points on women's being more nervous than men when driving. Why? Any driver is nervous when s/he is new. When driving has become habitual.. why should anyone be nervous. Treat people back as they treat you and you will start seeing the difference.
My wife drives more than I do and mostly alone. Initially there were a few minor accidents/bangs/nicks here and there but now she is a pro. And for the record, my paid male driver caused more accident repairs costs than her in the same time period.

visran · Jul 27, 2012

Nice thread ParC, i totally agree with you we men are more arrogant and biased, on a day to day basis i encounter at least dozen men driver's who drive like a fool, but no one seems to comment on such people but even a single female driver found at fault we go on and name the entire fraternity at fault.

mukesh · Jul 27, 2012

Parul,
There is no end to the discussion "Who are better driver, Males or Females?". I know/have seen many people including males who don't drive properly and it's not about the driving skill, it's about the attitude. "CHALTA HAI".Specially in NCR region where we hear stories of road rage, female assault almost on a daily basis.
Given the situations above by you, i totally understand your feelings/anger, the streets are full of idiots but then there are people who are different,educated and equally respect females on the road. My only advice to you is don't get nervous; and be confident in any situation and enjoy your journey.

ParC · Jul 27, 2012

Thank you guys for your response,you all are right that all men are not like that but problem is that only the men who are like that approach women.Others keep on minding their own business.

@Allhyundaicars:You can understand all that quite well.The problem is not the surrounding where the girl lives,problem lies in the surrounding which keeps on changing every kilometer.

@Vamsuduk:You are right,actually the problem many times felt by me is that most of the male drivers sometimes become so arrogant that they reach the level of suppression.I have driven many cars,yes my experience may be nowhere near you people because its not any more than 20-25k kms till today.I can park them,I can reverse them well and I can easily squeeze the car with just inches left on both sides but still men on the roads try to show their dominance,especially to young girls.
One day I was driving my Esteem to my office on NH8,I was doing about 85 kph(which was the traffic speed),soon I heard a horn and found a Scorpio following my car and hence gave him way.He hasn't overtook but instead blown it again so i accelerated till 130 kph and again moved on peacefully.After about 1 minute the Scorpio was again behind and it overtook me only after I moved my car on the extreme left with 3 lanes empty for him to go.
Why he was behaving this way?Because just 5 kilometers back,I overtook him quickly and cut a lane in front of him.Many other people did it,but he noticed me only.This happens many times,talk to any girl who drives alone and she will explain hundreds of such incidents.
These incidents result in nervousness at the end with a feeling of being overpowered every kilometer.

@Gurrala74:Then there is surely a difference in the way you and those people look at women.The respectful look is easily recognized but what about those men who look directly at your face,many times their eyes are red due to alcohol and they keep on staring like they will kill you.I am always scared of those people.One day even one such man came and knocked my window quite hard and I without thinking started blowing horn soon we grabbed the attention of a traffic cop and he quickly came and fled the guy.

@Dharmesh:I understood the case you are talking of,but that was a trap-to-gain-TRP case.And yes,you are spot on on other points.

@Visran:I think you got my points as I wanted to convey them,thanks for supporting.

@Mukesh:Even I am also scared of those road rage,molestation etc cases of NCR.There are rich brats from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh who have no other work than burning the fuel of their cars and tease women.
Rest I am always confident and hence I have driven in whole NCR and drive daily to my office,that also alone.Only time of real nervousness is in the late hours if we are late by midnight in returning from office,in the midnight nearly every second driver is drunk here,on the NH8 people drive at 150-200 kph that time,all those are locals who haven't even seen Marutis but real estate has given them BMWs,so they think they own everything here.My home is just 8 kms from my office via NH8 and I cover this distance within 4-5 minutes during midnight,not because I love driving fast,but because I don't want to be stopped by those people.

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2012

@ParC:
Quite good point raised ma'm hats-off.Okay but isn't it like a men-bashing at its best?

Okay men stare at you,but how know that?Because you look back at them.. [lol]

I am yet to find a girl who has became a topic on this forum,due to her bad driving..

Rest,being true I agree on most of the points and this is a problem in our so-called modern society.
At last,all men are not same,though majority is.I myself is also scared of female drivers and really speak against them in a loud voice,so interacting with you is going to be fun. [thumbsup]

rekharam · Jul 27, 2012

ParC said:

On a lighter note, it is good if we rollup our windows in city traffic instead of breathing polluted air. It is our best not to indulge in any road rage, safe to sit locked inside your car. So never worry about that.

May be they want you to have a comfortable trip instead of drivingin our traffic, misbehaved persons rich roads.

This is a wrong perception. We blame every wrong doers. I guess you are hurted when they mentioned some females. But whoever it is when they turn right from left most lane cutting my lane without any indication, I get frustrated, be it a male or female. I guess you are over reacting.

You are right. But safety is getting big concer for males too in some part of India.

Take it in a positive note. Like a member posted above, I admire the women drivers in our road. I am happy to see more female drivers. I see many female drivers in Bangalore and we treat them the same way as male counterpart.

Don't bother about those stares. You just enjoy your ride and have fun. It is just an insecure feel created by their stare. Ignore them as much as possible. Listen to your favorite music.

Yes, but I go with SC verdict. If it can save a life of a female, I am ok with it. There are lot illegal activities happened behind than sunfilms. It is very difficult to catch those culprits. So we need to compromise on this part.

I hate these type of ill minded people. But not everyone, wants to help a girl to get their contact number. Never share your number or give your mobile to any unknown person.

Again this depends on people. Not everyone are educated or used to see a female driving on Indian roads. Itis just they are taking time to realize it. They look at every car when you ask for direction. May be I take a video and show you :). Don't need to be panic.

I feels nonsense when someone never let me to overtake on an empty stretch. If you want a company, drive behind them or drive little faster and keep up with them. Why do you want to block someone on empty stretch?

It is like going to a new office/place. You feel like everyone is looking or staring you. As long as you don't mind them, it wont hurt you. But I wont completely disagree with you. There are too many stares when a woman drive here in India. My sister is little different, she drives faster and damn care about those starers. She enjoys her ride. My wife too never complained about this, but may be because we are in Bangalore and we used to many female drivers on road. I promise you, it is difficulty in guessing a female driver here. Now they are part of our roads here.

If my answers felt little rude, please forgive me. I just want to mention, just ignore those jokers and enjoy your drive. The more you thnk about them, you will be nervous and loose your concentration. Do what you love, care less about those unknown jokes and idiots.

Drive Safe..

AppU · Jul 28, 2012

@ParC:

I agree with you with all most all the points which you mentioned.

Even my sister also knows driving. but, I never let her to drive alone.Eventhough she drives good, I allow her to drive only on the empty straches on NH & some state highways. When she drives I will be very cautious when compare to her.

As like you mentioned I don't want any Idiots to make any unwanted scene on the road.

Be frank, I too used to stare the girls who driving the car. but, I'll try to move away from her because I don't know how well she is in driving.

I appreciate your boldness & keep on driving [clap]

TSIVipul · Jul 28, 2012

@Rekharam:Thanks for the support.I agree with you 200%.Its more like male bashing.

@Friends(ParC included):
C'mon yaar how many times you have seen a female helping accident victims?
How many times you have seen a female fighting for others?

One day in Ghaziabad I was trapped in a traffic jam,from behind came a Honda City(driven by some confident girl) and tried to squeeze into the space on my left.The ORVM of the Honda City was about to touch mine that I pressed the button and closed it but the girl kept on moving the car and the City's ORVM slightly touched mine and the car moved ahead by about 2-3 inches and stopped.I ignored it.

Soon my lane moved and I saw that the girl is trying to cut the lane and enter mine,that also from just millimeters away from my car.I started,accelerated slightly for 5-6 inches and rolled down my left window and started continuously looking at the face of the girl.After 1-2 minutes she also looked at me and with even worse(in fact worst ever) staring and expression I waved my hand asking what she wants and within 5 seconds the girl engaged reverse and reversed her car by about a foot and waved me to go.

Being true,now a days girls take a lot of advantage of being a girl.You even speak a word and maybe she can slap you back saying you teased her.
IT LOOKS LIKE I ALSO NEED TO WRITE A THREAD MENTIONING "HOW TOUGH IT IS FOR YOUNG BOYS TO DRIVE IN INDIA".

Every person think we boys are mad.
If we have a bigger car then in no time we are declared spoilt rich brats.
If we make even a single cut,people declare us super rash.
If we meet an accident,everyone declares us very fast,people try to find if there is any alcohol smell etc.
In any accident,the policemen arrest we young boys even without asking what and how it happened.

What about these issues madam?Its not only females,its everyone who finds its tough,only we people don't shout and cry on it,because no one has sympathy with us,at the end we have to help ourselves.

Gurrala74 · Jul 28, 2012

@Vipul, It seems you got hurted a lot with girls every day [clap]

There is some truth in ParC version, yes there is a truth in your "Boy bashing". There are careless drivers in males and females too. I observed most of the females on grearless scooters zooms away without looking at left or right what is coming and what is happening.

But one truth we all have to agree that yes there is no such safety for girls to drive on Indian roads today and reasons are to many.

Let us make a way for girls on the road and traffic and let them go ahead where we loose nothing and as true Indians render more respect for girls and women !!

I also hope all of us have responsibility making our own female drivers to drive carefully as per rules.

Superbad · Jul 28, 2012

i cannot quote each and every reply . so just generalising.

people stare. yeah right they stare irrespective of them seeing a male or female. i stare at beautiful rides , not the riders [:)]

it is about being self conscious. the minute you focus on the road ahead,the traffic and stop worrying if someone is staring at you , you would be a better driver.

the implications of beng a better driver are less accidents and in turn no further need to get into altercations with public.

regarding if one is following a car one can easily make out whether that driver is confident about the car, nervous about the car. I guess driving a SUV has it advantages where in i know who is driving and can make the necessary adjustments with regards to the space between cars to null the offset .

rest, i dont see the need for people to share their personal numbers. if the need arises , i share numbers which are not working. [;)]

How Tough it is For Females To Drive in India.

ParC

V2

allhyundaicars

Honoured Member

vamsuduk

V4

Gurrala74

V12

dharmesh

V10

chayan

V8

visran

V12

mukesh

V8

ParC

V2

TSIVipul

V12

rekharam

V6

AppU

V10

TSIVipul

V12

Gurrala74

V12

Superbad

V10