Why don't you see more women driving? (1 Viewer)

[magicsurfbus]

On a long day's driving Mrs MSB will usually do the middle bit on motorway/autoroute. She's not mad keen on doing the twiddly bits on minor roads or in cities but would if she had to. She learned to drive some 8 years before I did so she's the more experienced driver, and the MH is registered in her name.

 

[Debs]

Well I drive ours, as him indoors, is still waiting for
the great and the mighty at DVLA ......
may their name be forever praised ................to get their act together.
I can' t wait
'cos he never learnt to map read in the Cubs......and don't get me started on sat nav.
Jude

I've never driven using the sat nav, just watched it when I'm the (supposed) navigator but we had arguments because he used to get stressed about who he was taking notice of....found the solution was to mute her
Just glad I know where I'm going tomorrow

 

[magicsurfbus]

..on our way through Calais an unfortunate incident concerning our wing mirror has knocked my confidence in having a go

Forget it - I'm on my third nearside wing mirror. Most things that stick out from a MH get knocked off at some point - top marker lights, vent covers, chimney pipes. I've seen one guy lose his awning, but he was being very silly. Just carry spares.

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[movan]

You don't see many woman driving motorhomes if its longer than a vacuum cleaner lol

Marked man ... marked man....

 

[TheBig1]

well without being at all sexist or trying to pander to a stereotype, i believe "many" women are not competent to drive big vans. it tends to be out of their comfort zone so they get twitchy and over react. On the other hand you get some women, like my wife who are excellent drivers. Bren learnt to drive on the farm and drove the tractor at harvest time, towing a trailer of hay aged 5. these days though i have to drive, because of her stroke. gets her very frustrated

 

[Minxy]

... why have a dog and bark yourself!

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[tw1nklestar]

I do all our driving. OH had a bump in his car so it made the insurance too much and he's a shocking driver anyway!!

 

[Don Quixote]

I always thought women got married in white so they matched everything else in the kitchen, but what happened to driving a MH as they are white as well. I'm now off to take some pain killers as wife has just hit me so hard it hurts......

 

[Puddleduck]

On a long day's driving Mrs MSB will usually do the middle bit on motorway/autoroute. She's not mad keen on doing the twiddly bits on minor roads or in cities but would if she had to. She learned to drive some 8 years before I did so she's the more experienced driver, and the MH is registered in her name.

I drove a 7.5 tonne MH through Paris in rush hour and everyone/thing survived unscathed. Could be the maniacal grin and GB plates that did it ...... but if I can then so can Mrs MSB. Actually I find the bigger the vehicle the easier it is to drive - up to a point I suppose.

I always thought women got married in white so they matched everything else in the kitchen, but what happened to driving a MH as they are white as well. I'm now off to take some pain killers as wife has just hit me so hard it hurts......

Tell her to send you over here so I can bash you as well........

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[magicsurfbus]

I drove a 7.5 tonne MH through Paris in rush hour and everyone/thing survived unscathed. Could be the maniacal grin and GB plates that did it ...... but if I can then so can Mrs MSB..

Mrs MSB usually ends up doing the M25 round Heathrow on our way to Dover so she's no stranger to ducking and weaving.

 

[Puddleduck]

Mrs MSB usually ends up doing the M25 round Heathrow on our way to Dover so she's no stranger to ducking and weaving.

Have done the M25 between M4 and M11 three times in the last week. Which reminds me to write to a haulage company about their brilliant driver (some distance in front of me) who managed, somehow, to avoid what would have been a dreadful accident when a car pulled off onto a slip road and then back onto the motorway, across the curb and grass (so was going rather slowly by then) right in front of the HGV who was travelling at about 45 in very heavy traffic. Brilliant driving and reactions by HGV driver and I want to write and tell the employer

 

[snailtrailer]

I do drive the motorhome but normally only on roads in Norfolk and Lincolnshire that I am familiar with. If navigating is involved then I prefer to be the passenger with the map.

Same with the car. I much prefer Derek to 'do' the motorways - don't like vehicles either side of me

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[froghopper43]

I have always done the driving. But since I had open heart surgery in august I can't drive. So a quick couple of hours practice. Then off to north Wales from Winchester. No problem. Xmas off to Belgium. ddon't expect I will get much of a look in. Mrs froghopper loves it.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I guess 'the man does the driving' dynamic is still strong in society no matter what vehicle you are in.

It's certainly is in my relationship, it's not a conscious thing, but whenever we go anywhere other than short trips, I always drive, it's just something we do. I prefer to drive and my wife prefers to be nosey and watch the world go by.

Also I hate being a passenger with my wife driving, she isn't a bad driver, actually she is very good, but I hate the way she was taught to drive, Rush up to a junction, braking with no changing down the gears until you put it in first ready to move off again, I hate it, really bad way to teach people how to drive, whatever happened to being in the correct gear for your speed on the road, I can only imagine the brake pad manufacturers did a lot of lobbying to get this introduced.

 

[parknride]

Les drives the MH, I tried and did the bit between Zaragoza and denia once. Hardly any traffic though so was easy but am too nervous. When he drives I nagavate (correct sp) so help him, he sleeps when I drive so no help when I need help or decision.

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[New Dawn]

My other half has driven it once. But she is about to do a bit more, in fact a lot more. We're booked to St Malo on the 25th going to tour Brittany & the Vendee. She used to drive large horse boxes so has her C1. I now go to church !!!!!!

 

[Minxy]

I think I drove our previous PVC once, maybe twice, for about 10 ft just moving it around! Hubby loved to drive it and I was quite happy to let him (dog ... bark!) although I did occasionally drive our other motorhomes before that. I haven't driven our new PVC yet but will be doing so shortly when we go down to our static ... I'll probably have to prise the keys out of his hand as he loves driving it!

This is an example as to why I believe more than one person in the vehicle should be capable of driving it:

Back in May 2007 I had to undertake a major drive on holiday - it was a stonking great run back-up from Millau in the South of France to Dover which was necessary due to us both getting very bad sunburn after a canoe trip down the Ardeche gorge - over 8 hours and 28km; it got hotter and hotter as the day progressed ... now I know why the French call us 'roast beef' ... because we were!!!

Hubby ended up with severe 2nd degree burns and couldn't drive at all, just walking was excruciating; my sunburn wasn't quite as severe so I had to drive our 24ft+ Rimor for the first time (we'd only got it in February and with the snow etc hadn't had much chance to use it). Up unti then I hadn't driven abroad either so it was a bit of a learning curve made harder since hubby had to lay on the dinette bed most of the time so could't help 'navigate' or with the manoeuvring either when parking etc. At times I used a walking pole to press the accellerator on the long motorway stretches to relieve the pain of having to use my foot all the time; once we got back home and had recovered we arrange for cruise control to be fitted by Dave Newell!!!! Oh, how I wish we'd had it previously!!!

After this hubby got the nickname 'Shrek feet' as theyand his lower legs swelled up so much ... fortunately they didn't turn green!

 

[Mr B]

SWMBO is an excellent driver, and she has drove ours twice now. But, the thing that she finds a bit hard is the lhd drive bit.... She is left handed and is always, always getting the gears wrong.
So, the answer is more practice for her , or an automatic....

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[sdc77]

I do most of the driving.. ms sdc77 isn't comfortable with driving it on anything but uk motorways really. When in france we use tolls and she doesn't like driving into booths. Bendy roads are a no no for her also as is reversing. She drives the car fine and we share that 50/50 but as someone above stated her method of driving is very jerky and her vision and use of mirrors is not good (and I can't say anything)

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

I think Cindy would read some comments in this thread with interest, given she drives 13 ton fire engines for a living as a firefighter. She drives our comparatively little Moho regularly.

Candidly, I quite like the option of not having to drive, which came in very useful when I buggered up my back in France.

 

[mjltigger]

Rush up to a junction, braking with no changing down the gears until you put it in first ready to move off again, I hate it, really bad way to teach people how to drive, whatever happened to being in the correct gear for your speed on the road, I can only imagine the brake pad manufacturers did a lot of lobbying to get this introduced.

Apparently it's because brake pads are cheaper than clutches.. it also scares me when people drive like that.

I do most of the driving in my relationship because I like it and Ms Tiggs loves me so she lets me

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[buttons]

It would be a bit unfair to expect her to do the driving as well as cook clean and look after the family. We are not totally insensitive.......

 

[Cat53]

I like to drive but Steve is the most godawful passenger on the planet. He couldn't drive for the first year after his accident, so I drove everywhere. The sorest part of his anatomy was his tongue....cos I told him if he didn't shut up, allow me to drive my way ( not his) I would tie a bungee to his wheelchair and tow him along behind. Sometimes, we women just have to put our feet down!
I hope to drive our MH when we get it on the 9/10.

 

[JACQ]

I have driven ours on a couple of occasions and enjoyed doing so but have a chronic back problem, which made reaching and operating the handbrake virtually impossible. Bernie fitted an extension to it just in case I should need to drive in an emergency, but it pulls up at an angle away from the driver's body, and I just can't operate it (the back, again!).... back to the drawing board! To be honest, he loves doing the driving, he's a dreadful navigator and I'm a good one (his opinion as well as mine!). Its a bit frustrating that I can't take breaks away locally with my Mum or offspring, unless Bernie can take us there and bring us back though, all for the sake of a handbrake!

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[Hel999]

I would love a chance to drive ours as I would be completely at home in it, but since we upgraded to a Sprinter based coach built he hasnt let me get my hands on it as he fears I will forget I am not in an ambulance and would drive it like I stole it

On the other hand, hubby is used to standard width sprinter vans, which are narrower than our MH, and has given me a few breath holding moments when he has gone for a gap which he shouldn't have! But dare I tell him that??!!! Not worth the hassle

 

[Larby]

Apparently it's because brake pads are cheaper than clutches.. it also scares me when people drive like that.

I do most of the driving in my relationship because I like it and Ms Tiggs loves me so she lets me

I have travelled with recently passed drivers and do they approach junctions/roundabouts faster than me, brake hard, select gear and go. I towed caravans for 30 years so approached slowly and could often continue without having to stop. Perhaps that's why I've never had to fit a clutch. My current car has 177,000 on the clock and towed the caravan thousands of miles and is still on the original clutch.
Wife driving? I've offered but she is happy to sit back and let me drive. Never drives car when I'm there, let alone a MH in France!

 

[Debs]

I like to drive but Steve is the most godawful passenger on the planet. He couldn't drive for the first year after his accident, so I drove everywhere. The sorest part of his anatomy was his tongue....cos I told him if he didn't shut up, allow me to drive my way ( not his) I would tie a bungee to his wheelchair and tow him along behind. Sometimes, we women just have to put our feet down!
I hope to drive our MH when we get it on the 9/10.

what did I miss.......have you found one Cat??????

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[madgeD]

I've driven this one Pvc a couple of times, but if anyone asks if I do O.H scathingly says he wants to get there to-day !! Travelling at 60 in a van is what I am comfortable doing !! And I hate the flipping handbrake he fitted an extension thing which I struggle with.

He changes completely at home with the car, he gets into the passenger seat most times ! I just wish he would keep his instructions to himself

 

[sdc77]

I think Cindy would read some comments in this thread with interest, given she drives 13 ton fire engines for a living as a firefighter. She drives our comparatively little Moho regularly.

So she's been trained to drive a fire engine .. most ladies (and a fair few blokes) don't do any extra training or have no experience driving anything larger than a car. I know a fair few ladies who drive larger vehicles or who have had extra driver training and they too would undoubtedly be comfortable driving a motorhome.
If I could persuade ms sdc77 to take more training I would ..

 

[Debs]

Les drives the MH, I tried and did the bit between Zaragoza and denia once. Hardly any traffic though so was easy but am too nervous. When he drives I nagavate (correct sp) so help him, he sleeps when I drive so no help when I need help or decision.

Must be something about the name cos that's what mine does too!

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