Last night I attended a local NWR (National Womens Register) meeting. The topic was ‘The Perfect Weekend’ and this encouraged fantasy destinations, fancied partners and much female frivolity.
I can’t remember how but at one stage the conversation veered from Tom Hanks (on a romantic Isle of Scilly no less) to the fantastic freedom that our cars give us, especially when going out on our own at nights and to get to evening get togethers like this one.
No it wasn’t a topic introduced by me as few know what I do but yes I was interested to hear what was said…
One of the ladies explained that her partner now did all the driving because she had lost her nerve recently, completely out of the blue. She had moved house and area and simply couldn’t cope with driving on unfamiliar roads… even though this is a rural area and the roads aren’t exactly overcrowded. She wasn’t sure what to do about this.
Another woman suggested, in fairly blunt terms, that she shouldn’t delay, she had to get on with it and overcome her fears otherwise she could be stranded in the middle of nowhere (we’re talking about a mid-Sussex village here with poor rural bus connections). She explained that this had happened to her sister who lived in Scotland; she was effectively stranded after her husband had died unexpectedly after doing all the driving for years.
Of course I made a few constructive suggestions, like taking a refresher driving course with a local instructor, investigating the IAM’s Skills for Life package or starting off with a few local journeys early in the morning, with a girl friend perhaps and when traffic would be light. I also mentioned the Driving Standards Agency’s Arrive Alive Classic presentation, knowing that this is designed for groups of drivers over 50 years old. I have often thought about organising one for ladies in this area.
But I don’t think that these are exactly what were required on this occasion and I wonder if there might be more that could be done to make women more confident drivers (this is a critical gender difference) recognising some significant female life-style factors.
For example, more women than ever live alone and get divorced. There are and will continue to be more elderly women drivers as today’s baby boomers age and replace older women drivers who were less likely to drive then. Chances are we will continue to live and want to drive for longer and women will outlive their male partners. We are often distracted by children, we do much of the local caring work and, when we are older, we are known for having minor accidents, often in car parks. I think this is all to do with a lack of concentration and perhaps this is caused by having our mind on too many things at once.
So how about some refresher driving courses for women drivers who feel the need? Rather than a 1:1 driving instruction which is a little intimidating for most women, perhaps an innovative, low cost, confidence building and fun way for females to refresh their motoring knowledge, become better drivers (where possible ahem) and maintain their freedom to carry out their community caring roles as safely as possible.
Perhaps an insurance company would sponsor FOXY Lady Drivers Club to organise these across the country? We could add in our road safety information and car maintenance advice for women when it comes to running safer, greener and more reliable cars.
And maybe we’d be able to enjoy the equivalent of PassPlus insurance discounts, gifted by participating insurance providers. Just a thought.
FOXY Steph
