The Best Kept Secret Blog - Women Drivers

My husband isn't perfect but he does get some things right.

One thing he is particularly adept at is "managing" me while we're driving. You see, I'm a bad driver. And I'm a pretty bad passenger too.

When it's my turn to drive, I drive too slowly, follow too closely and refuse to venture into the oncoming traffic lane in order pass another vehicle. (I hate to tell you how many miles I've logged behind slow moving farm vehicles but hey, one's got to avoid those head on collisions at all costs.)

When I'm in the passenger seat, it's worse.

In the early days of our marriage, if I thought my husband was driving too fast I would tell him to slow down. But, not wanting to sound like a nag, I developed a technique where I half wave - half point my hand in the direction of the car in front of us whenever I want to signal to my husband that I think he should be careful.

I really can't say whether or not I do this a lot but, coincidentally, I have been treated for repetitive strain injury in the waving wrist.

I got thinking about women drivers during our recent family road trip. Most of the women I know generally fall into two camps.

The first are the bad drivers who, like me, openly acknowledge their foibles. The second are the bad drivers who, unlike me, think they're good drivers.

There's my friend R. who can't seem to park her car in an underground lot without scraping it against those concrete block support columns. Despite having done this several times, R. thinks her driving is impeccable. She does, however, have a lot to say about how poorly parking lots are constructed.

My friend A. drives like a demon throughout the city. Apparently speed counts in getting to the grocery store, little old men with canes at a cross walks be darned.

N. has never quite mastered parking her mini-van. Better to walk half a mile from the far and empty end of the parking lot than try to fit between a Beamer and an SUV.

I got a really useful tip from Y. who passed on this nugget. When your husband drives, only look out the side window, never the front. You'll get to enjoy more scenery and since you never know what's coming, you're less likely to nag (or in my case, wave).

And while we're talking tips, H., who's always running late, saves time by applying her make up in the car while she's driving. On the 401.

By the way, have you ever noticed that you never get a red light when you need to put on your lipstick? Try this, it works.

My husband takes it all in stride. He long ago gave up trying to coach me on how to be a better driver. And when I try to tell him how to drive, he gives me a knowing nod and then ignores me. It makes me feel like I've been listened to and it makes him feel like he's handling the wacko in the passenger seat.

I appreciate my husband's car ride demeanour and I hope he never takes to nagging me. You could help by acknowledging his patience. The next time you see us out on the highway doing 10km behind a tractor, give us a little wave of your own.