Fury over bonkers booklet telling women how to drive

Get short URL

Published time: August 18, 2008 06:26
Edited time: August 18, 2008 10:26

Traffic police in Siberia have risked incurring the wrath of the fairer sex with a new guidebook telling women how to bring their driving up to scratch. The controversial document, ‘Driving rules for a true lady’, claims female drivers flirt with passing

The booklet, which has a pink cover, aims to draw attention to female motorists’ most common mistakes.

But despite its lack of political correctness, police in Krasnoyarsk say they don’t want to cause offence, but are trying to make the roads safer.

They came up with the idea after noticing the number of road accidents caused by women is growing rapidly.

“Women certainly are just as good drivers as men are,” said a police officer. But he added that they suffered a great deal of trouble because of stilettos and tight skirts, which restrained body movement.

However female drivers have complained at being singled out. They say they don’t see why a similar booklet wasn’t made for men, who are accountable for more then a half of all accidents on the road.

“It’s a pretty offensive text and they seem to have written it for idiots, not responsible drivers,” says one driver, Maria. “When someone is at the wheel their gender is irrelevant. They either follow the rules or they don’t.”

Another said: “This is banality. Especially the colour. I think women are the most careful drivers.”

But Nadezhda, another Krasnoyarsk driver, said the booklet won’t change anything, because some women drivers “think they are beyond the rules”.

While Russian women may complain that they are mistreated when it comes to driving, their counterparts in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive at all.  Citing religious laws, the Islamic state has turned an unofficial rule into a legal ban in 1990.

Krasnoyarsk police’s ’Driving rules for a true lady’

#1
A true lady never breaks traffic rules because she respects the law.

#2
A true lady uses rear-view mirrors to check the road, not her appearance.

#3
A true lady won’t start a race against a male driver.

#4
A true lady will make way for another car when rules call for it – even if it means making way for a man.

#5
A true lady shall never use a mobile phone without a hands-free kit, even to learn the latest news on sales and discounts.

#6
Keeping her car fit is as important for a true lady as taking care of her looks.

#7
A true lady doesn’t flirt at the wheel and doesn’t get distracted by the looks of passing men. She knows it’s in bad taste.

#8
A true lady never sees the middle of the road as “a convenient spot to park the car”.

#9
A true lady always keeps her papers in order and in one place.

#10
A true lady keeps to her lane and uses indicator signals when she wants to change.