by everending

Created on: December 22, 2008

As a woman, I'm usually the first to defend my sex. But when it comes to female drivers on the road, I stay as far away from them as possible. Now I know people will often try to make a scientifically-based argument as to why men are better than drivers than women; they'll go into the realm of spacial reasoning and equate it to men's so-called superior math skills. Maybe there is some truth in it, but I'm not an expert on spacial reasoning. All I know is that socially women are conditioned to be weaker drivers. Why? There are a number of reasons, and while some have to do with the act of driving itself, most have to do with larger possibility that women will become distracted while driving.

Men are raised to like cars. A love of cars is one of those conditioned aspects of masculinity that modern society has embraced. A woman, to preserve her femininity, often has to feign ignorance of cars. Even driver's education is often tailored to this sexual dichotomy; I know my teacher never talked to me about what the car was doing, only what I was doing. But as a woman, she probably didn't know and probably assumed I didn't want to know. The boys in the class discussed many of the intricacies of fuel pumps and exhaust systems during their observation hours. Now, automotive knowledge does not necessarily mean one will be a better driver, but it at least helps the situation when the driver knows what is happening at a mechanical level. When something does go wrong, I feel men are better prepared to handle themselves; let's be honest, how many women actually know how to jack up a car and change a tire? My father made very sure I knew how to before I even thought about my license, but many women do not know the wrench from the lug nuts.

But I don't believe education is the biggest factor. Like I said, in emergencies men often have the upper hand, but that does nothing to explain why I think more women on the road cause emergencies. Men speed; the accidents men cause are often more deadly because speed is a killer, and they are more apt to refuse to wear seatbelts. But women also respond differently to the idea of driving. For men, it's a time to show off. The car they're driving matters, and they want to show off. Women, on the other hand, often drive oblivious to the act of driving. They drive out of necessity, and for the most part they do not focus on the decisions they make behind the wheel.

While men may drive in the company of friends, women completely engage in the

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