It's a tumultuous experience being on the road with a car stuck in the middle of traffic-struck road. But you are constantly made to feel guilty, scared and nervous not because you are one amongst the myriad others who has got stuck and made a traffic scene, but because of some other reason. The biggest mea culpa is that you are a woman, and over that you are on the driver's seat and over that you have an 'L' at the back of your car. But is that a fault?

The berating, abusing 'other' drivers make you feel pathetic for being a horrible driver because the combination of a car, a woman and an 'L' board is emblematic of traffic congestion on road. Yes they say it's tough being a woman, even on road. “If a guy in a car zooms right past you in a flatulent style and horrible speed, no one swears on them and says 'he's got to be a man'. But if it's a woman who by mistake gets stuck in the middle of the road, men form a solid phalanx to shower ambiguous abuses and comment 'she's got to be a woman'. But why? Why do men want us to be perfect on road and not commit any mistake however obvious or natural it might be,” says Ambika Shah, an entrepreneur who travels everyday from Khadki to Hinjewadi and finds more men rash drivers than women.

Our roads have never been friendly for learners, whether a man or a woman. But as soon as a woman gets on to the driver's seat, the first fear which crosses her mind is the fear of jibing men and not an accident. Kavita Aggarwal, a businesswoman feels she is a better driver than her husband. “My husband seldom drives. He trusts me more than himself and I agree. If a guy breaks a signal and rushes past, everyone remains quiet but as soon as they see a woman on the driver's seat stopping even for a second to do something important, the world around you will make sure they make you realise what a huge crime you are doing.”

If science says men are better drivers than women then it has got to do something with the basic making of the woman so how is she at fault? At least she is trying her best and is succeeding most of the times. Studies say that while women may have proportionately more crashes than men, those crashes are, on the whole, much less severe and women are therefore responsible for far fewer injuries and deaths than are male drivers. Remember, not all men are perfect drivers and not all women are bad drivers. Till then, practice lady, practice!