Wednesday 5 December 2012

Women at the Wheel v/s Women at the Wheel


Now we have all read and thought about how women drivers on the road are often ogled at, bullied at whim by the ‘dudes’, overtaken by bus drivers and the very clichéd ‘women can’t drive as well as men’ statements…. But what we really miss out on is the attitude women drivers have towards one another – an interesting psyche and well… pretty much a far cry from the tolerant, gentle and accommodating nature the fairer sex is regarded to possess.

Men on bikes will almost always share a nod of understanding with their fellow men waiting with them at the red light. Even the 4 wheel wielding gentlemen will once in a while admire the ride beside them. But when women drivers face each other at crossings or at the red light, it’s a different ball game altogether!

First rules first-thou shall not admire the ride of a fellow fairer sex, rule 2 – you can always drive better than ‘her’, rule 3 – heads held higher give you a better view in the mirror to make sure your hair looks better than hers, rule 4 – louder than the ‘daali boy’ decibel of music shall prove that you handle torque better (I unabashedly have my music loud to block the traffic noise – so what if people think I’m a loony)
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I’m sure, many women enjoy their rides as much as me and do not follow the rules mentioned above. Nonetheless, as I sit down to write this piece and observe the behavior of women drivers on the road (I do also drive you know, not just observe) I can’t help the title track from ‘The Good, Bad & The Ugly’ play in my mind and visualize the scene as 2 cars with women drivers come to a screeching halt at the red light. Vehicles side by side, bated breaths, manicured hands on the gear instead of a pistol (thank god!), eyes fixated on the countdown timer at the signal, a look of ‘cat’s whiskers syndrome’ stuck tight on the face – she who accelerates shall excel!

Well, atleast men apologise when they accidently nip your rear view mirror. Some women on the other hand, pretend their cars are sponge cakes and simply drive away. One such incident happened with me a few days ago and that’s what has made me write this piece and that’s what put me in the ‘If looks could kill mode’ that morning. I do love my vehicle, and I do not like someone just missing scratching the paint off, especially when there are no apologetic nods offered. And so started the quest for redemption. The ‘goggled’ lady was hence not allowed to overtake my car, so what if I insisted on sticking to a speed of 30 on a relatively empty road and when she was given space to pass ahead, the tail the target move proved useful (it was quite a lot of help that we both were headed to the same parking lot). Finally, as we both reached the parking area and stepped out, I ask ‘I think you just almost nipped my car’ in the most sweet tone ever (read threatening) and I hear the magic words. 

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