Tag Archives: Vic Botterill

women drivers

Ladies evening in Dunstable

Changing Wheel_thurlownunnWe’re often asked about courses for women who want to know how to DIY re car maintenance so here’s a good one for ladies in Dunstable this time. These are not sales occasions, more community evenings with women’s road safety at the top of the agenda.

We’ve all felt uneasy at times, hearing about others being approached by a stranger in a deserted car park late at night or breaking down by the side of the road and having another car pull up alongside…

Fortunately these situations are few and far between, but they do happen and we all need to know what to do to avoid becoming a victim should it ever be our turn.

Vauxhall retailer Thurlow Nunn in High Street South, Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, is organising a free ‘Women in the Driving Seat’ evening on Wednesday, November 18.

Practical instruction on personal awareness and self-protection, basic car care and maintenance for beginners and self-help will be top of the agenda. Advice will also be given on reducing the risks women face when driving for work or socially, including dealing with so-called ‘road rage’ in other drivers.

Personal safety

The increase in road traffic in the UK – up by 50 per cent in the last two decades – is an important factor and this is set to rise by an alarming 100 per cent in the next 20 years, predict motoring experts. In a survey of more than 3,000 UK motorists by YouGov for an insurance company, it was revealed that nearly 1 in 10 (9%) have been threatened with physical violence and over half (56%) of drivers questioned agreed that road users are generally less courteous than five years ago.

Even more alarming was the revelation that over a fifth (21%) of road rage sufferers have argued with another motorist because of road rage, while 36% admitted it makes them drive more aggressively. Almost one in ten (8%) said they’ve followed another driver as a result.

“Personal safety and security are imperative for everyone, particularly women, today. The menace of aggressive, inconsiderate driving on our roads seems to be increasing at the moment and we believe that all it takes is a little care and consideration to avoid situations which can escalate into the kinds of tragic incidents we have all heard about recently,” said Ivan Pletersky, general manager of Thurlow Nunn Dunstable.

“We want everybody to enjoy their independence and freedom and be able to travel safely and confidently on our roads. We hope that by highlighting the risks facing women drivers, it will provide them with a wealth of information and practical advice,” he added.

Tackling road rage

In addition to car safety, the psychology behind car confidence will be explored by ex-Police Chief Inspector and human behaviour specialist Vic Botterill, with practical advice on safe driving and combating the hazards of modern driving, including so-called ‘road rage’, which members of the audience can join in with. Advice will also be given about the frequent causes of aggressive, dangerous driving and ‘motorway madness’, with the audience encouraged to share their own experiences and how they could have been avoided.

But the course is not designed to encourage motorists to take the law into their own hands emphasised Ivan: “Our Women in the Driving Seat evening is free to anyone who wishes to steer clear of trouble or be able to deal with their own, personal ‘road rage’.” he explained.

Self defence role play

During the event, volunteers from the audience will be invited to take part in self defence role-play by self protection specialist and head of the Realistic Self Defence Organisation, Andy Williams. They will be shown how to beat the bullies behind the wheel and, if diplomacy fails, how everyday objects to hand such as car keys, pens and possibly deodorant sprays can come in very handy.

Representatives from the Dunstable branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) will also be there to discuss their organisation’s various advanced driving courses with interested visitors. And there will be a representative from FOXY too.

Few vehicles come equipped with full tool-kits nowadays, so Thurlow Nunn’s service technicians will also offer visitors practical hands-on instruction on dealing with roadside emergencies, routine car maintenance and car safety checks. The evening is free and all will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves and ‘have a go’ themselves under the guidance of expert motor technicians, promises the dealership. Gloves will be provided for hygiene purposes.

Anybody interested in attending the free Women in the Driving Seat event at Thurlow Nunn on Wednesday, November 18 can telephone Ivan Pletersky on 01582 575944 or e-mail: ivanpletersky@thurlownunn.co.uk to reserve places.

women drivers

Let’s pick on women drivers, again, says Erin

how-can-women-be-bad-drivers-if-we-never-let-them-out-of-the-kitNot content with winding women drivers up in November, Erin Baker (Telegraph Cars MD) has posted the same feature again in December about why women drivers drive her mad.

And mad she clearly is. According to her ‘some’ women drivers need to up their game. Shock horror. She’s right of course in the same way as ‘some’ male drivers cause the most serious accidents.

But by using her sensational heading she has seriously raised my hackles which is not to be recommended.

Now I must confess I’m not 100% sure where my biological hackles live when they’re at home but when they are raised, my jaw strengthens in a contentious pout, my temples tingle and I imagine my face takes on a rouge-ish bad tempered look.

Not a pretty sight and one we can all do without at this time of merry festive cheer to all men (and women…).

So what do women drivers do so badly?

This is the gist of Erin’s Queen Bee vitriol…

1/ That ‘some’ women drive badly?

I’m sure she’s right.

2/ That some women sit in the outer lane encouraging others to undertake?

That’s back to the Highway Code naughty step for you Erin…

3/ That ‘woolly-like’ women were wrong to say ‘no’ to raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph?

Despite admitting that today’s de facto speed is c80mph already (allowing for 70mph plus a 10% tolerance plus 2mph) could it be that these ‘woolly-like’ females calculated that if 70mph = 79mph in real life then 80mph = a real life speed of 90mph for those drivers that will always push the envelope to its limit. Which is then too fast, say I.

And a few other barbed comments reserved for women drivers…

Anger management controls when driving

Of course Erin’s internal anger is her personal problem but the fact she sees bad female drivers everywhere she turns is something she needs to address.

To help her, I’d recommend she attend one of the excellent Ladies Garage Evenings we promote especially one where the speakers include Vic Botterill. His presentation is called ‘Painting your Face from Within’ and makes the simple point that if you start driving as a miserable git (Vic’s words) that’s what you’ll be to others. Vic’s personal beef used to be men in hats – it was always a man in a hat when he looked at an offending driver. For others it’ll be caravanners, women or so-called boy racers…

But when it’s women drivers, it’s usually men being critical about us, because many of them find it impossible to accept that we might be the statistically safer gender when it comes to serious accidents. Granted these are usually caused by younger males where testosterone and an unfortunate inability for some to say no to a cocktail of drink, drugs and driving are recognised factors.

But again – this is a small minority and I wouldn’t dream of tarring a complete gender with the same brush…

Encouraging women to be better drivers

I’d much prefer Erin uses her considerable writing skills to produce constructive and supportive motoring articles encouraging us all to be better drivers. By all means start by berating us for not being as good a driver as she so clearly considers herself to be (hoping nobody reads her earlier feature about ‘where’s my spare tyre and what do I do with it’…) then she might move into a positive gear making recommendations about confidence courses or the supportive advice and information we provide for women, for starters.

After all, Erin could be a veritable role model amongst us foxy ladies, were more women to read the Telegraph Cars supplement than do already…

But why would any of us want to read this if this is the sort of ‘holier than thou’ motoring attitude and abuse we’d find, written by a member of our own sex?

And one who clearly knows what marital stress is all about, how this affects men and women differently yet seems to have neither tolerance nor time for the rest of us in the same busy lifeboat?

FOXY

“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other”
memorably said by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

car dealerships

Hands up every foxy lady who can change a tyre?!

I recently went to a special evening called Women in Gear held at the Kia dealership showroom in Washington, West Sussex.

More than 80 eager women and a couple of token chaps were there, keen to hear more about how to change a tyre, what to do if we’re confronted by road rage and how to defend ourselves.

I was there with my FOXY stand, promoting FOXY Lady Drivers Club (in the photo) with my bright red jumper matching our mascot Sophie’s little red sports car.

Everyone loved self-protection guru Grant Hicks who made the subject of defending yourself fun and practical. He gave us great tips about how to foil muggers or thieves in and around our cars – like what to do if someone attacks us from behind and how to disarm them in three easy moves with the aid of everyday objects.

We heard about the psychology behind road rage and how to deal with behind-the-wheel bullies from ex-Police Chief Inspector Vic Botterill, who explained useful techniques like recognising how close people can stand next to you before it becomes intimidating, and what to do when that happens.

Everyone’s thoughts and emotions form our attitudes at a given time, and our feelings can alter our perception of a situation.

We learned that aggressive and therefore potentially dangerous driving usually starts with something small like a flash of headlights or a beep, which can quickly escalate to verbal abuse. The next thing you know there’s a confrontation or worse. Vic told us if we’re being followed, never drive home but go to a friend’s house or even better, directly to the nearest police station.

This might seem common sense but when we’re in a panic situation, it’s easy to forget the obvious and default to a less safe option.

Some of us were surprised to find we were the aggressors ourselves, as we were asked what we’d do in certain situations. Of course, it wasn’t me, guv!

We were then taken to Kia’s pristine and shiny workshops where we split into groups and were shown what’s under the bonnet. There are surprisingly few parts we need to know about these days compared with older motors, but even so we should all be able to top up our oil and water, and know what the battery looks like.

All of us came away with some really useful tips and techniques, and those I spoke to were certainly glad they’d gone.

FOXY

Women in Gear run free courses from time to time across Sussex.