Women Drivers

[headlamp]

As some of you already know, my daily journey is 10 miles of commute on one of London's most congested roads. Usually it consists of around 6 to 8 miles of filtering. It's one of the main reasons I wear a high vis jacket, always ride with the dipped headlights on and when filtering flick to full beam. The net effect of this is usually a reasonable proportion of drivers pull over to let me through, I consequently spend most of my filtering either nodding thanks, waving or giving the thumbs up (it's good to do as there is usually a bike that will be following and they will either have a clear run through or drivers will be more 'disposed' to them.

Anyway, in all this I have noticed in all the years of riding that women drivers never pull over, indeed I get the impression that they are totally unaware that a bike is around or indeed there may be other traffic. Clearly theer are plenty of male drivers that act in the same way, but it's usually women drivers I have to squeeze past as their car is postioned just that little out of sync, women drivers never look in their mirrors despite 500 watts of full beam bearing down or a flip of the accelerator.

To balance the argument - certain male car drivers are absolute pigs - generally (note the word generally), Mercedes and BMW drivers - they see you and then try and block your path. Finally anyone using a mobile phone when driving is a total menace as they will 'wiggle' in their lane......

Anyway, just my observation, hopefully lots of you will now tell me that I'm just imagining it & not to be paranoic or sexist?
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Using a mobile phone while driving a car should be made a capital offence!

[Fruit'n'nut]

[Piccie]

hmmmm, I am a women and drive (car, minibus-taxi) and also ride a bike. My experience is that women dont seem to check their rear mirrors very often or even not at all, so wont even know you are trying to get past them. Dohh.
Being a biker myself i always make a point of letting other bikers through. And as a professional driver i always check my mirrors
dont mean to offend anyone
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www.h.webpage.de

[TOM M]

[colin1]

its nice to have a woman agree with us about other women.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Piccie]

[Barry_M2]

As I also drive a car, one thing that really pisses me off when in traffic is when a bike has its lights on high beam, there's no need for it, I can see normal dipped beam just as well you no 'more' visable than normal, just very annoying!

Would you like it if I came screaming up behind you in my car with full beams on just to let you know I'm there?!

[G]

Note that TC mentioned that dipped beam can make it harder to work out how far away a bike is and it's speed, so full beam would be worse I expect.

I think the figures are thatabout 1 in 10 men have a bike licence (even if they don't ride), while about 1 in 100 women do, suggesting that a higher women are likely to be less aware of bikes for a start.

[Kara]

I'm a woman and drive a BMW, it specifically says in the car manual that the mirrors are for show and the outside lane is exclusivly for the use of Beemers

[Barry_M2]

[veeeffarr]

I hate those bloody LED brakelights that twunting boi racers have on their cars that are like epilepsy testing devices...

Was coming home from work the other night and saw a black saxo with them on... Thought the fucking Mothman had landed and proceeded to be basically blind as stevie wonder with forks in his eyes for the rest of my journey behind him

[Delvard]

[Kara]

[Piccie]

[akaDAVE]

I have to say from my experience it seems a lot of men and women don't quite grasp the reality that they are in sole control of thier car. They think they are just getting a lift whilst giving directions.

[kb-zxr]

I like to think I am a good / safe car driver. Is it just me or does anyone else feel like they have far more control on the bike than in the car, its hard to explain, but I can never reach the level of awareness in the car as I do everytime I ride the bike

[mattfuzzy]

[headlamp]

[0ddball]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, all car drivers should have to do a CBT. Even if they never intend to ride a bike in their life it will make them much better drivers and make them more aware of whats going on around them.
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ZXR750L

[mr.z]

My mums a driveing instructor, has IAM and ROSPA tests and is looking into doing a diamond award (needed needed for examiner status) so suffice to say is a good and safe driver.

And on several occasions pointed out that women drivers just aren't (generaly) as good.. (will often complain about bloody woman drivers when one is blithering allong doing something stupid)

The main reason isn't because they are female its because they couldn't give the faintest shit about driveing, they are concerned only with where they are going, what they need to buy from sainsburys, what happened at work e.t.c.

Another thing was an inability to cope with bad situations, like a bus comeing at you...

Do you a. Look for an escape route?
or b. Squeel, close your eyes and drive straight at it?*

Most blokes are paying attention to whats going on (again with exceptions, white van man and sales rep man for example) even nobs in ned mobiles are looking what they are doing most of the time, But there are those who are intentionally twunts and shouldn't be anywhere near a car/van/bus

I'd expect most women on here to be pretty good drivers (rideing bikes as well), you know how dangerous being on the road is and as a result are aware of whats going on!

IMO arrogance and ignorance are the most dangerous things on the road, people pulling out without looking, makeing situations dangerous just because they dont want to be overtaken that sort of thing



(*Has actually happened on a lesson, politely suggested geting a new instructor or never driveing again after haveing to steer them out of the situation, instructing can be a bloody dangerous job...)
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[akaDAVE]

Good point. A lot of women are simply not interested in driving so don't bother to pay it attention.

My girlfriend is a F'ing nightmare in the car and I don't mind telling her, it might save someones life, maybe even mine.

The other day she did 40mph(in a 30 zone) around a blind bend, one hand hooked over the opposite side of the steering wheel, in the wet, with a bus hanging over into our lane and a car nosing out the T junction on the opposite side of the road and she's looking in the F'ing mirror at someone on the pavement that just past - probably looking at thier handbag!

She missed both the car and bus by inches, and when I caught my breath to scream 'FUCK ME', she turns and vacantly asks me what was wrong. Not a clue.
She's been driving a year and already scraped both sides of her car in the multi storey and gone up the back of someone when they 'suddenly stopped'.
I also saved our arse recently when someone turned accross us at a traffic light junction when they should have stopped. It would have been a head on at 40mph if I hadn't spotted them.
She was blissfully unaware, cruising towards the junction at 40mph without slowing.

If I die on the road I don't want it to be in the passenger seat of a knackered peugot 106.

God help me.

[Nolongerhere]

a pick of the only mirror a woman uses whilst driving!!!!

There are exceptions but genreally woman dont notice motorbike until they pass then when they do the winge about them being dangerous!!!!!!!!!

[MikeyC]

[0ddball]

People joke about women putting on makeup in the rear viev mirror but if you make a note of looking, especially in traffic queues in the morning rush hour you'll see the stereotype is completely true in a lot of cases.
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ZXR750L

[Nolongerhere]

Thats not even meant to be the rear view mirror that is meant ot be the sun visor mirror but anyway! lol