On a rainy Saturday morning in August, I had an appointment to meet hence I was somewhat in a hurry. By the time I hit the roads, the entire area was already water logged and traffic logjam was beginning to build up.
Since I was running a little late for the meeting, I drove a little faster than I normally would. But no matter how fast I moved, I was still conscious of traffic rules and not to swerve the car into an on-coming vehicle.
Since I was running a little late for the meeting, I drove a little faster than I normally would. But no matter how fast I moved, I was still conscious of traffic rules and not to swerve the car into an on-coming vehicle.
After being schooled in driving rules, at least the Highway Code has become another Bible for me (the fear of Federal Road Safety Corps and LASTMA is the beginning of wisdom); I made sure I did not overtake wrongly in order not to put the lives of other road users in danger.
That morning, there was a driver who tried to overtake me wrongly, because he saw I was a female. The man’s attitude underscored the impatience of most Nigerian drivers. But for the careful driver that I am, I stopped on my track when I realised the man deliberately swerved his bus in my direction.
At this point, I tried to manoeuvre the car, making sure he didn't pass me. But on a second thought, I decided to stay calm to avoid any dent on my car.
I realised too that the man like any other Danfo driver was just another crazy, impatient driver who loved to make trouble. Despite the fact that I did not struggle with him for right of way, he tried all he could to scare me off the road, but I didn't budge. “You be woman o, why you no wan comot for road? You no fit drive like a tasin drifa” he jeered wickedly.
The behaviour of some drivers in the Lagos metropolis has never ceased to amuse me, and at a point it became a cause for worry. I don’t understand why some drivers are so careless about the safety of other road users. Most times while driving, I've seen and heard other male drivers taunting female drivers with comments like 'E no sabi, na woman o, no wonder,' or 'I must drive myself, you no go tell your husband to give you driver?' or 'Na so woman dey drive?,’ are very common comments on our road.
The question then is: are there really that few or no good female drivers on our roads or it’s just that the male drivers are just being sexist? It annoys me on end though, when I see a woman who has no business driving, being a nuisance on the road.
I feel women like that make the male drivers generalise that most women are bad drivers. However, if it is a man, no one says anything, they'd just write it off as one of those things, maybe he's having a bad day, but if it is a woman it becomes a problem.
There is another side to it, when some male drivers realise that a woman is behind the wheel, it’s at that point they will begin to flex their muscles by offering to give instructions on how to ‘turn your hand,’ especially if you are reversing.
Even the most ignorant of them will still offer to help. Hence, at the slightest issue, every man on the road feels he must help you drive or give you directions. I think it's mostly a sexist thing.
And so, I believe there is no woman driving a car on the road that doesn’t know where she is heading. Yet, there are some men who are bad drivers than women. They only try to cover up their inadequacies with ego.
