If only I hadn't broken up with my boyfriend before driving the car. Sad face.

I have this problem. All of my male acquaintances are ministry-approved driving instructors. I know, right? So strange! How is it that male friends, family members and coworkers have all managed to become qualified to comment on my driving when they’re a passenger in my car?…Oh wait, they’re not.

For a group of people who have snagged themselves speeding tickets, traffic violations and are explicitly not qualified to comment on or judge a person’s driving skills, I have a few backseat drivers in my life. And all of them are men.

I’m not sure what it is about men and women in cars, but I don’t think my experience is unique.

For whatever reason, many men seem to think that it is reasonable and not-at-all irritating for them to criticize a person’s driving, while they are driving a car. Because this makes so much sense. Yes, it’s a great idea to undercut a person’s driving confidence, while they’re in the middle of operating a vehicle with which, if things went really badly, they could kill you!

Logic fail. Why on earth would you do something so stupid as to make a person feel like a bad driver, while they are driving?

Am I perfect driver? Sometimes it takes me a minute to park in a tricky spot, sometimes I take a quick turn that I should have waited on. But so far, I’ve got a clean driving record and aside from a stupid pole-induced scrape on my front bumper, I’ve managed to avoid destroying my car. I should not have to defend my driving to you.

I passed my test. I had my driving scrutinized, I got yelled at when I failed my G2 (Class 5 GDL) test the first time for speeding. I got it. I passed. In fact, the government has said that I am allowed to operate a vehicle, all by myself! Go me. And you know what? Most days, my lady hormones don’t even get the best of me. I can drive a car without having an emotional freak out, tears streaming down my face as I nearly lose control of the vehicle, because it’s so overwhelming being a woman and driving a car.

So why the commentary?

I have no idea. There is no succinct conclusion to this post/rant. I’m inclined to make a sloppy judgment on the bravado/stupidity of men = “I’m a great driver!” = more fatal crashes. But you know, I wouldn’t want to presume.

But I did do a little research. The conclusion, as one might assume, is that there is no clear evidence for who is the better driver. Studies have found that men have better technical handling of a car (ex. can park a car quicker,) but women have better judgment (ex. not speeding when it is idiotic to do so.) It has pretty much been proven that men are more likely to die in a car crash than women, because they employed poor judgment while driving.

Which can only lead me to say:

Dear Future Male Passengers,

Please a) have some respect for your driver and b) acknowledge that I have passed my driver’s test and don’t need you to teach me to drive while I am operating the car. In fact, I don’t really need you to teach me to drive at all. And c) remember that it may take me a correction to park the car, but in a battle of judgment vs. handling in a parking lot, who is less likely to die? Go me!

I look forward to our next road trip. You can bring the timbits and the show tunes.

Love,

Allison

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