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Gender of the driver has nothing to do with the quality of driving, Automobile Association deputy director Anwar Ali tells Rejimon K
MEN and women at the wheel never seem to tire of the argument on who is the better driver. Of course, men say that women drivers are unnecessarily over-cautious and slow down traffic but, as Oman Mirror discovers, there are women drivers who are as capable and accomplished at the controls of a vehicle as their male counterparts.
So does this lay the free-wheeling argument between male and female drivers to rest once and for all? Who is more accomplished at the wheel? Who obeys the rules of the road and makes sensible decisions? Who can manoeuvre a vehicle safely and accurately?
At a time when the Sultanate is witnessing high accident rates, Oman Mirror talks to drivers in Muscat on the ongoing debate. Remember, a responsible driver is one who follows the rules of the road.
Automobile Association deputy director Anwar Ali says that there are good and bad drivers of both the genders.
“We can’t say that women are bad drivers and men are good drivers. We can see rogue drivers belonging to both genders. Some women practise reckless driving while some men create unnecessary trouble by being over-cautious. The thumb rule to be a good responsible driver is to follow the rules of the road and drive without creating trouble for others,” Anwar said.
When asked about the high accident rates, Anwar responded: “Drivers should undergo thorough training. They should have a good knowledge of rules of the road. The screen tests conducted for providing driving licences should be strict.”
“Most of the drivers don’t even understand some signboards,” Anwar added.
Saleh Al Rawahi, an employee in Oman LNG, said that women are not good drivers. “It is visible on the road that over-cautious women drivers create unnecessary problems, said Saleh who had twice become a victim to over-cautious driving by women.
When asked whether it is possible to compare the driving abilities of men and women, Saleh said: “Women are less interested than men in driving vehicles. So they want only to keep their car rolling. They are also not that quick in responding to unforeseen situations on the road, which causes big trouble for other drivers.”
Ahmed Al Rawahi, a marine engineer, also says that women are not good at wheel.
“Most of the times, women create unnecessary problems on road. They are over-cautious,” says Ahmed adding that they its men who take risks on the road.
Shahida, a government employee in Muscat, has a different opinion on the issue. She said: “I don’t believe that all women drivers are good. I have seen women being reckless drivers on the road.
“Every driver should strive to constantly improve their driving ability. The key area that defines a driver is the strategic, tactical and operational ability. How acutely a driver senses danger determines how good he/she is. A stronger sense of danger can lead to being over-cautious, whilst a weaker sense of danger exposes the driver to greater risks.
Since 2005, Shahida has been driving a mid-size car in the capital. She has never broken road rules and has not landed in any trouble while driving.
“Having the ability to concentrate fully on the road ahead and being aware of what is going on around them are a must for a good driver. This includes good anticipation and quick reaction time to road situations,” she added.
Najeeb, a taxi driver in Muscat, said that there are good male and female drivers. “I have seen reckless women drivers and over-cautious men drivers. Of course, we have to be cautious but not over-cautious. We have to maintain the required speed on the lanes.”
“It is not unusual for all the good practice drives during the learning period to be replaced by bad habits as soon as the driving licence is in the bag. Parking an inch too far from the curb or letting the wheel run through your hands might not make you a bad driver, but there are some basic principles that good drivers stick by. Using mirrors, correct signalling and common sense are some of them,” he added.
“No doubt with experience comes confidence, which is not to be confused with over-confidence. A confident driver will always know the rules of the road and take sensible decisions.”
Claudia Becx, a Muscat-based Dutch painter, said that other than the gender difference, there are also two types of drivers on the road.
“Some are good and secure about their driving skills. They are confident enough to drive in Formula 1 style, securely overtaking from the left and right on the road. The others are the drivers who care for the others on the road.”
“There are also some drivers who behave as if they have not undergone any traffic rule classes,” said Claudia, who loves drive safely. She never answers her cellphone while at the wheel and does not take any kind of risk on the road.
On tightening traffic rules, Claudia said that drivers should never violate rules. By causing problems on the road we not only put our life in danger but also that of others on the road.
“When changing lanes and direction we should follow rules. Overtaking on a busy road like Sultan Qaboos Street should be avoided. Overtaking is fine (from the left), but we should make sure that we first gain speed before doing so, so that drivers behind us don’t have to push down their brakes,” Claudia said.
When asked whether women can drive big cars, she said: “The choice of car totally depends on the women. If you can drive well, it doesn’t matter which car you drive. When you have family, I believe that a 4WD is safer. And it also depends on how tall you are! How can you see everything when you can’t even look over the dashboard?”
Claudia’s husband Marcel van Der Haar said: “There is no difference between men and women drivers here - both are bad! When compared to some European countries, I find that in Oman, both men and women are bad drivers. They don’t follow the rules and don’t know what is good driving.” On the soultion to the problem, he said: “First of all, the root cause of the issue should be addressed. The driving instructors should be made to pass tough tests before they become one. When they are well trained for their job, the chances of our learning to be good drivers are high.”
Wilson George, who works in Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals, believes that both men and women are good drivers.
Wilson, who doesn’t believe in comparing the driving abilities of men and women, said that punishment for violation of traffic rules should be increased.
“Of course you cannot affect the behaviour of other drivers, but if you want to avoid the accident repair centre, make sure you are observing the rules of the road,” he added.
Intisar, an employee with Nawras, and Nawal, an employee with the Ministry of Health, said that women are good behind the wheel.
“Women are cautious drivers and they never try to break the rules of the road,” they said.
“I am driving since 2003 and have never violated any rule. Most of the time, I see that it is men who try to show off their extreme driving skills on the road. They are impatient when they see that a woman is driving in front of them. They will try to somehow to overtake,” Intisar said.
“There are good and bad drivers in both genders. But most of the reckless drivers I have seen are men,” Intisar added.
Nawal was also of the same opinion. “But so far, I have seen that most of the women drivers are responsible. They never violate rules and never try to show off their extreme driving skills on the road,” she said.
Terry Dela Cruz, executive assistant in Al Amal Medical Centre, said that men drivers abuse women drivers.
“Most of the times, when a male driver sees a female driver on the road, he always want to intimidate her. It seems that they can’t tolerate a woman driving a car.”
When asked about ways to reduce accident rates, she said: “The rules should be tightened. Drivers should be made to attend more classes on safe driving and violators should be punished severely,” she added.
Terry believes that both men and women should know what is right and wrong while driving.
She said that only men tend to take more risks while on the road. They always want thrill and excitements while driving. They tend to speed up like they are the kings of the road.
“I have been a victim of reckless driving. When men know that a woman is driving they try to tailgate the car and force her to speed up by blinking their headlights. This annoys women drivers.
“Then they tend to block your way in the front just to show that they are good at driving and you are bad. Some drivers are also rude. They should show courtesy while driving, especially taxi drivers who tend to stop anywhere to pick up passengers in a two-way lane which creates a traffic jam and sometimes accidents. They tend to park and occupy the lane, waiting to pick up passengers,” she added.
And, there we are. One can’t say who is a better driver – a man or a woman. Although women are not technically superior to men when driving, the fact they think of the consequences of their actions and take fewer risks means they crash less and kill fewer people. Forget the joke that they can’t park! The simple fact is that being bad at parking rarely kills people - driving too fast does!
Oman Tribune |
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