h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Men want to operate engines. *stop*
If they have to go from A to B to do that, they go from A to B.

Women want to go from A to B. *stop*
If they have to operate some kind of engine to do that, they operate some kind of engine.

That's the big difference imho. For a man it's fun to sit in a car (the bigger the better) and to drive around (the faster the better). Having to go from A to B is nothing else but an heartly appreciated reason to be allowed to use the car.

For a women the car is just a transport. If they have to go from A to B, they think about what would be the best transport to use. If it's the car, they take the car, but without the drooling (as opposed to men ).

When it comes to operational skills, men tend to be more daring (and parking a car into a tight space *CAN* be a daring task. On the other hand, this attitude can lead to dangerous situations, esp. on highways.

Navigation: For men, driving a car is like hunting. You'll have to find your way to the prey and back to the camp. That's why orientation and navigation tend to be male rather that female skills (prehistorically). On the other hand, women are willing to ask for the way while men are still driving around searching for the ultimate shortcut. In the end, both arrive simultaneously, but the woman is still calm whereas the man is stressed. The woman has consumed significantly less fuel, has done a shorter distance and hasn't experienced any flash of adrenaline. She just has arrived.

Just my personal POV.

Jeremy

Yes, lots of wisdom in there, Jeremy.


On a lighter note... why is it that women have such difficulties in parking cars into tight slots?


Because they are always being told that this much

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is six inches.

That is so true, Bossel!

Jeremy, I don't think your logic is entirely sound, though. Maybe half-true.

I regularly drive fast. On the freeway an average of 15 to 20 miles over the limit (average 75 to 80 mph, 90+ on road trips). My ex husband on the other hand drove usually about 5 mph under the limit. I refuse to drive just anything, I take a lot of pride in my vehicle and love receiving compliments on it (I drive a newer Ford F-150 full-size truck, and will be getting a brand new one in a few months ) I love driving, and don't mind taking the bulk of the driving time on long trips. My husband drives a nice, sensible Oldsmobile.

My mother (who is approaching 60) drives a beautiful red Mustang GT, and has driven one for the past twenty years. She's not one of the old biddy's that you pass on the freeway thinking to yourself 'That woman has no business in a sports car'. She's more commonly the person in your rear view mirror waiting for you to get out of her way. My father on the other hand drives a minivan the speed limit. Even when it's something rediculus like 10mph. And on a side note, he has wrecked every one of mom's Mustangs in addition to two of his own vans .

I know that our family doesn't necessarily represent the norm either, but we're definitely not an unheard-of minority. I think a more interesting comparison would be had with drivers over the age and under the age of 20

Perry,

I know that my logic is somehow out of line, but, hey, if h2g2 asks us whether women or men are better drivers, that question is out of line, too, isn't it?

95% of all men would say that their driving skills are better than average. I bet that not more that 50% of women would say the same. Now who's right????

Just to add some personal flavour to that debate: I used to work as a paramedic for some years. During that time I was a pro, but many of the shifts, esp. during nights and weekends, were done by volunteers who had to be teamed up with a pro. One of my favourite team mates was a young woman (no drooling, please!!) who must have been born with the car keys in her hand. When we had answer an emergency call, which was a matter of minutes or even seconds, there never were any discussions about who was to be on the helm of the van. She had an intuition for the car and the surrounding traffic, a 120% situational awareness. The only problem was that when she really had to hurry through the dense traffic, her intense driving style sometimes made me puke out of the car when we arrived at the site. Anyhow, I never ever again met anyone with the same driving skills, and, believe me, I did my time on the roads.

Jeremy