The stereotype of women being bad drivers is often joked about and deny it all if you will, but the truth remains that a lot of people do believe that men are better drivers than women. However, a new report by the Delhi Police may have given us an answer.
As per the Delhi Police report, a lot fewer women were charged with traffic offences, such as jumping signals, speeding, and drunk driving, as compared to men. Out of 26 lakh challans issued to Delhiites in the year 2017, only about 600 were issued to women for traffic violations, a Times of India report stated. Wait, could that even be right? That would make men about 4000 times bad at driving as compared to women, in a manner of speaking, right?
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The report went on to add that the ratio of driving licences issued to women is shockingly low. For every woman licence holder, there are 71 men with a permit to drive. But, statistically speaking, the number of traffic violations in men are still higher than those in women.
MBA student Shrishti Jain (25) seems to have a reason as to why women are better drivers. Speaking to TOI, Jain said that women “tend to be more careful” behind the wheel as compared to men who are “rash”. Jain adds that women are often criticised as there are fewer women driving in the streets, making even small violations more prominent.
(Photo Courtesy: Express Archive/Amit Mehra)
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Incidentally, the report stated that men continue to believe that they are better drivers. Speaking to TOI, Sonu Kumar, who is a parking attendant in Connaught Place, stated that he often has to fix the positioning of vehicles parked by women, but not as much with men. “Men drive and park better,” Kumar said.
So, what’s what? Who can handle the stick better? Institute of Road Traffic Education President Rohit Baluja seems to think that the Delhi Police report can be of no help in settling the debate as the police “hardly fines even 1 percent of the violations occurring daily.” Baluja adds that we need to collect data on the number of injuries from road accidents to be in a better position to answer the question.
For now, the discussion stays open.
