If you listen to enough old tales and ‘old-school’ drivers then you would probably be informed that women cannot park, never mind drive properly. It’s one of the most common clichés out there but thankfully there are plenty of genuine driving statistics that can blow this information clean out of the water.
Driving statistics breakdown.
While the Driving Standards Association – the DSA – have numerical driving statistics proof that men are better at reversing and parking than women, the other driving statistics out there paint a more balanced picture…
Last year, there was roughly 40,000 females who failed their driving test for being unable to reverse park while in full control of the situation. By comparison, only 18,798 men failed their driving test for the same reason. During driving tests in 2013, more than 1.6 million mistakes were made which constituted a failure or the end of the examination. More than half, 56.7%, of these errors were made by female learner drivers.
driving statistics
However…
When it comes to junctions both men and females struggle heavily. The driving statistics showed that roughly 112,185 women versus 88,990 men failed their driving test in 2013 due to not making the right call or observation when at a junction.
While these driving statistics points to some of those clichés being true, other clues seem to have foundation as well. It’s regularly noted that men are far more aggressive drivers and this is shown to be the case. Situations like speeding or ignoring traffic lights and road signs are extremely common reasons for failure. Driving statistics estimated that roughly 5% of male drivers failed their test within moments of starting last year, by not being able to move away from the starting zone in a safe manner.
When it comes to gear changes, driving statistics point to women being far more regularly penalised for not being able to control the vehicle. With a 50% driving statistics pass rate for males, females are somewhere around about the 44% mark. Men also seem to need less tuition in general, with 36 hours the average time spent learning versus 52 hours for females on average.
So, what do these driving statistics figures actually tell us? Do they hold anything significant in these numbers?
This survey was generated not long after an analytical survey was released, which showed that following surveillance, that driving statistics point to women being better parkers than men. They may take longer on average, but they do a better job of actually parking!
While men prefer the “as long as it fits” approach to parking, female cars tend to be aligned perfectly in the middle of the space. Despite all of the reasoning out there for why this may be, from the car shape to the quality of training, some experts from the University of Warwick believe that it’s a simple case of confidence.
The world of driving statistics is certainly not anything near as clear-cut as some would have you observe. A simple look at Driving Statistics from professional resources can give you an idea of how skewed the image can be of both male and female drivers as a whole.
To health and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.
How To Pass Your Driving Test… If You’re Superstitious
If your looking for some rather strange superstitious rituals, how to pass your driving test has got them.
If you are one of those people who prefer touching wood, to prevent something bad from happening, or would rather walk in the road than under a ladder? Then listen up!
The AA Driving School has put together a list of “How to pass your driving test “ rituals that they come across on test day. To tell you the truth, some of them are straight up crazy!
Cracking an egg on each tyre
How to pass your driving test
Now this how to pass your driving test ritual is lets say…a little bit weird.
Before getting into the car on test day, you will need to take a trip down the shops and buy yourself four eggs. Each egg is supposed to be cracked on each tyre and with the purpose of ensure that nothing comes between you and passing the driving test. Well, at least this is what the girl’s mother did and she passed the test which is why she passed on the ritual to the daughter. An evil eye toy was also bought for her the purpose of which was to ward off jealous vibes! Yes its hilarious, but guess what? She did pass her driving test!
Two drains girl
If you like drains, then this How to pass your driving test ritual is for you.
Now personally I have no desire to want stand one drain, let alone three drains in a row, but having to pull over and get out of the car then stand on every double drain as an assurance that you will pass the test seems a little excessive. But some girl somewhere did this, passed her test the first time with two minors – and the rest as they say is history.
When lucky pants aren’t enough
This particular how to pass your driving test solution, requires you to wear your lucky clothing. And since this is actually not weird, one woman took it a bit further by insisting on wearing a t-shirt she gave birth in and trousers she was wearing before she conceived, which was seven years earlier. I guest she stood out a little more than the usual candidates.
Go bananas
Do you remember when your mum used to make sure that you eat a banana before every exam so as to keep your brain alert?
It seems that if you want to pass your driving test, you should follow this example because it seems that one learner driver stuck with this advice and upon eating two bananas before her driving test, she passed!
A little help from Luigi and friends
If you want a little more help preparing for how to pass your driving test, a little help from a friend is at hand.
Now get this. One learner swears buy using good ole Mario Kart, to brush up on her driving skills. Of course you would have to imagine that there was less banana skins and green shells to deal with, but hey if it helps you to pass your test who am I to say anything.
The lucky chocolate bar
Before going for the HGV test, one woman gave her husband a chocolate bar… and he passed. Because of that, the family began a tradition of giving each of their children the same brand of chocolate before going off to take their driving test. It is not surprising that all of them have passed so far. Of course, chocolate make everything so much better!
And the ideas, which weren’t so odd…
And finally in how to pass your driving test last-ditch attempt – here is a quick break down of the rest. Bringing your lucky toy to the test, saluting magpies and refusing to take the test on Friday 13th. Some learners somehow managed to pass their driving test using these rather unusual solutions. Are these people “normal” yes, I guest they’re just looking for a little more help from literally wherever they can find it.
To health and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.
Five types of bad drivers on the motorway
Bad drivers on the motorway come in all shapes and sizes.
You may have recently just passed your driving test and are being intimidated by the motorway. This may be because you are regarding other drivers as way too cool or just different from you, judging by the way they drive. Bad drivers exist on the motorway but to help you easily identify them, I have put together five categories of bad drivers to try and avoid. When you learn how to identify and deal with them, motorway driving suddenly becomes a breeze!
The so-cautious-its-dangerous driver
These types of bad drivers can easily be identified and this is from their enthusiastic use of indicators, which are often deployed early, and left on for quite some time whilst changing lanes. In addition to them being cautious, they are also very generous with their “thank yous” after every lane change. Their appreciation is always depicted by a hand signal or hazard light so when you see this, know that you have the so-cautious-its-dangerous type of driver.
Another thing to note about these types of bad drivers is that they have a unique driving style. You will find that their nose is usually pressed against the side of the windscreen and their grip on the wheel is something you would most likely see at Thorpe Park than at a motorway. This one shouldn’t be hard to overtake, avoid by overtaking when you get the chance.
The snail
These types of a bad drivers, picks a lane then picks a pace suitable for them and sticks to it. This particular group can be easily identified on the motorway because they totally disregard the design of the motorway system which is why they are unwilling to go over 55mph.
Characteristics you can look out for when it comes to these type of bad drivers, is that their cars are usually boring, slowly driven by people wearing boring outfits that are almost always beige in color. When you also see tissue boxes on the parcel shelf, small terrier type dogs with stained mouths on the parcel shelf or ornaments on the parcel shelf then you know that you are dealing with a snail driver.
In essence, any car with stuff on the parcel shelf is potentially a snail driver. The reason why the snails can be termed as bad drivers is because they never learned the purpose of the lanes. They assume that all lanes are acceptable places to drive slowly while enjoying the beauty of Britain’s motorways. The snail can only be displaced from their chosen lane by emergency vehicles and when they decide to change lanes again, they often do so in a sudden manner and with minimal signaling. So look out!
The siren
bad drivers
These types of a bad drivers, buy a sleek black cars because it will make them look slimmer and they can be termed as bad drivers because they use the motorway like a speed dating service. You can easily spot the siren because it basically zips down the inside lane to flash a smile at unsuspecting male passengers. The motorway siren is actually an accident waiting to happen.
The boy racer
These types of bad drivers are usually heard way before you see them due to the pumping, incredibly noisy car stereos. To be honest the stereos are probably worth more than the car itself! Look out for sunstrips, alloys, lowered chassis, tinted windows and space-age body kits.
The foreign lorry driver
They are commonly sighted on UK roads due to their vast trucks with license plates from all the corners of Europe. These bad drivers overtake other Lorries at a painfully slow pace and usually drive erratically while making long pit stops at roadside cafes. With these, just give them a wide berth and pass them as quickly as possible.
To healthy and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.