Community Forums

jmcannonball · 12-02-2016, 12:03 AM

When I met my DW in 2001 she was the owner/driver of a 35' Class A. I see lots of women driving RV's. In our local club there are at least 5 that drive Class A MH. And according to several studies of men/women drivers, it has been statistically shown that women are "better" drivers than men. School buses, Metro city buses, to name a couple.

spsm · 12-02-2016, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady puffin

I know 15 other women who just finished a 4 day driving class in October. We all are happy to help the DH drive and I have run into more women driving solo. One of the best backers I have seen was a women who backed her prevost in to a space in Hudson fl in the dark. In fact our instructor said women are better at backing in tight spots than men. HE wasn't sure why, but they just do better. I enjoy driving and don't mind if the DH will navigate .

The reason she was able to back her rig in a tight spot, was because of her goal (Get out and look), we men are just to macho for that.

Stripe34 · 12-02-2016, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spsm

The reason she was able to back her rig in a tight spot, was because of her goal (Get out and look), we men are just to macho for that.

that, and/or good backing person, and/or great technology - cameras, lights, backing lines on screens, and - EXPERIENCE, SKILL, and CARE :-)

okcnewbie · 12-02-2016, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIDER FAN

..... I guess my point is that the percentage of woman drivers is very low......

So....? The percentage of women bus drivers is high.

The jokes on us. It's obviously not that they can't. It's that they don't have to...... and that some of our egos wouldn't like our wife being a better driver.

..... another thread closed!

CarolynanBob · 12-02-2016, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spsm

The reason she was able to back her rig in a tight spot, was because of her goal (Get out and look), we men are just to macho for that.

Negative. I always get out and look and so does my wife. Then we put it where it need to go together. My wife has driven our MH, but doesn't really like to. She wants to practice some more before we go full time in January just in case something happens to me.

twogypsies · 12-02-2016, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

The jokes on us. It's obviously not that they can't. It's that they don't have to...... and that some of our egos wouldn't like our wife being a better driver.

You nailed it. Many male partners think that only they are smart enough to drive the RV. Try sitting in the passenger seat and don't criticize and you may actually enjoy not driving.

LarryW21 · 12-02-2016, 11:52 AM

The only dumb RV driver moves I've seen were with MEN as the pilot. In one of them I saw the DW yelling at him after I stopped when he was left turning in front of me. I had a feeling he was going to make that turn....

RIDER FAN · 12-02-2016, 12:23 PM

Well i think its great if husband and wife are both capable of driving. As was posted you can take turns and enjoy the scenery , have backup in case of medical problems and other issues that may arise. As long as your happy and safe I don't care what gender is the better driver. From well travelled Rv'ers it sounds like there are more woman drivers then i thought. My wife has interest in driving [ partial reason for my original post before everyone got their hackles up] and she is going too.

mrebele · 12-02-2016, 01:18 PM

Sometimes the decision on who will drive is dependent on factors that have nothing to do with whether you are male or female. In our case, my DH gets totally bored when he is not driving while I love being the passenger. I am the one with the strong navigational skills and a good sense of direction so copilot is a great job for me. One other consideration in our case is the fact that i have poor depth perception, making driving a little more of a challenge. We'll be leaving in a few days to pull our travel trailer south to FL. I will do a small amount of driving just because it is good for me to practice but other than that, we'll each do the thing that we are most comfortable with. It has nothing to do with Male/Female roles and everything to do with what works best for each of us. BTW: DH is comfortable with my driving and doesn't question it but he just prefers to drive.

brialin · 12-02-2016, 03:32 PM

I used to have my own excavating company and my wife could start and run every piece of equipment I owned. She may not have been a good operator but if something ever happened to me she could start it and move it. I also taught her to drive a B model mack with a quad box ( 5x4 transmission). The transmission sometimes made a lot of noise but she could get me to the hospital if need be. She would drive our 35 foot 5th wheel but prefers not to. Again if something would happen to me she could manage to drive.

Stripe34 · 12-02-2016, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIDER FAN

Well i think its great if husband and wife are both capable of driving. As was posted you can take turns and enjoy the scenery , have backup in case of medical problems and other issues that may arise. As long as your happy and safe I don't care what gender is the better driver. From well travelled Rv'ers it sounds like there are more woman drivers then i thought. My wife has interest in driving [ partial reason for my original post before everyone got their hackles up] and she is going too.

If you can afford it, I strongly recommend RV driving school with a patient, knowledgeable instructor like Glynn Carson. It's awesome to have a professional, experienced, NEUTRAL third party who knows how to teach (in addition to how to drive). The "other" driver may even learn a thing or two :-)

MisterT · 12-02-2016, 04:13 PM

I think we men tend to make the 'woman driver' assumptions based on thoughts that aren't necessarily based on the reality of whether someone is actually a 'good' driver, but more of 'how' they drive... some examples that come to mind are:

-women probably tend to be more courteous to other drivers, letting them in front of them in traffic, waiving someone through a 4-way stop, etc., whereas us men probably tend to take a stricter 'I was here first...' attitude

-women probably tend to be more concerned about how others perceive them, whereas us men, probably not so much

as for large vehicles, motorhomes specifically, women probably don't have the same 'desire' or 'drive' to be the operator of a large vehicle like us men tend to - maybe it's a 'manly' thing - I doubt women tend to sit around boasting about the size of their rig

I certainly fall into the 'man' group, as I should, but my wife, who is an absolutely greatly experienced and proven driver of 4-wheeled vehicles, will absolutely NOT get behind the wheel of our rig, no matter how much I ask her to!

RIDER FAN · 12-02-2016, 04:18 PM

Thank you Stripe34 , the driving school is great advice. Professional training and possibly save a "domestic" Ha

Stripe34 · 12-02-2016, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIDER FAN

Thank you Stripe34 , the driving school is great advice. Professional training and possibly save a "domestic" Ha

Yeah, that's what we thought. Plus- the cost of one ding, one good scrape, or (heaven forbid) one accident avoided MORE than pays for the school.

Plus, they give you a certificate that can be used for insurance discounts (from some companies).

HTH -