Common driving mistakes we women make (and how to correct them)

I don’t claim to be a good driver. In fact, my husband who is a driving/racing instructor would claim that I am his worst student… ever! One, I don’t listen, or I can talk back at him, without fear of being thrown out of the class. And two, if he reprimands me, I will take it out on him in some ways more painful.

Being a lousy driver is not exclusive to women. In fact, in some studies, us women are proven to be better drivers because of our gentle temperament. (Husbands, you can roll your eyes.)

We both have strong and weak points: Men are one-track minded and aggressive; and women are cautious multitaskers. But due to the way we are, there are some driving errors that we women commonly make. Although not exclusive to us (at this time and age, what is?), a good number of women (and men) claim that the following are some of women’s shortcomings when it comes to driving:

1. Different space perceptions. Women seem to have a different calibration on space: You can ask your mag wheels, your bumper and your side mirror. Driving and parking are not women’s strongest suits.

Maximizing the use of your three mirrors will help. Parking cameras or sensors are also features that you must have.

2. Overdefensiveness on the part of women drivers. Ever since the term “drive like a girl” was coined, we all have been guilty of outmanning men by showing our aggressive side. So we try to insert our cars in any available space or in awkward positions, sometimes forgetting common courtesy and other SOPs—which just reinforces the stereotype image. In short, we become jerks on the road.

Relax. Who cares if you are too “feminine” on the road when you let one to three cars pass. Being a jerk on the road does not mean you are a better driver.

3. Not looking far ahead. When we meet a guy, we are attracted to the first thing that comes to mind—“is He the one?” Women tend to look that far ahead, even before learning the guy’s favorite color; we should practice this as well when driving.

When I took Skip Barber Racing School a few years ago, we were taught that to be able to react faster at the corner or whatever is happening on the track, we need to look farther ahead. We look only a few feet in front of the hood, which makes the cars around us and the landscape appear faster.

If we look farther ahead, we can anticipate what is coming up, hence giving us a better chance to react properly. Driving requires a lot of skill, and one of the skills we neglect is the coordination between our eyes and hands.

One thing my husband taught me was that where you look is where you go. Our mind is hard-wired to turn our hands to where we look. So never look at the pothole that is on the road in front of you.

4. No basic knowledge of auto maintenance or how the car works. If we don’t know how the stuff works, it would be hard for us to understand or decide the best way forward.

I’m not saying that you should be a car engineer: Just be knowledgeable enough to know the basic stuff—how to change a tire; how, when and where to check the battery and oil levels; and how to put water, coolant and wiper fluid. These will help us avoid getting ripped off or stranded on the road.

5. Multitasking. We brag about our ability to put mascara on, organize dinner over the phone, or like a friend’s new designer frock on Instagram while traversing Edsa. We might feel and sound like superwomen, but it’s more of a stupid superwoman.

Although the horrendous traffic conditions might drive you to count the strands of your hair, driving—like a clingy husband—still requires your full attention. It is not a question of if you can do it, it is a question of “should you do it.”

I believe that everything has its own time. If you think that you would need to do a lot of things while traveling, opt to have someone else doing the driving for the day. Reprioritize. Rushing gets you stressed, stress gives your wrinkles, wrinkles make you look old… need I say more?

6. Not knowing where to go or changing your mind often. We women have the right to be fickle-minded with our boyfriends, on what to eat, where to go and what to wear, but not when going right or left at a busy intersection. In fact, this is a very dangerous habit and usually causes fender benders.

We can avoid this by learning our route beforehand, either through Waze, Google Maps or a navigational device. It can also help if you have someone who is familiar with the area to act as your navigator. But if you are going to bring someone as clueless as you are, that is trouble times two.

Even if I hate to admit it, my favorite saying comes from the mouth of the action figure GI Joe: “Knowing is half the battle.” So before becoming overdefensive, let’s take the good points and become fabulous chic drivers on the road.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail author at jnt@chicdriven.com, follow her on Instagram/chicdriven and Twitter/chicdriven, or like her on Facebook/Chicdriven.