Russian Women Drivers Taking to the Streets
One of the results of the Russian economic resurgence is an increase of women taking to the streets in automobiles. Yekaterina Karenina teaches Russian women how to drive for $500 through a program offered by BMW. The new drivers have a number of battles to face besides just learning to drive – along with poor road conditions, there is heavy traffic congestion and crashes frequently occur.
In addition to the driving hazards, there are still many prejudices against women drivers. Men view women drivers as dangerous and do not feel they should be allowed to drive.
The editor of a new magazine for women drivers called “Woman At The Wheel” feels differently. Natalya Lipatova says that there were no female drivers in Russia 15 to 25 years ago because most Russians could only afford one car and it was driven by the men in the family. She thinks now that women can afford to buy their own vehicles, her magazine will provide them with the knowledge they need to take to the road. Articles cover such topics as how to reverse park the car and exit gracefully, how to adjust the driver’s seat and what to carry in the glove compartment as well as fashion advice.
According to TNS-Gallup the number of women drivers has increased almost 50% since 2001 to up to close to 2 million women out of a total population of 142 million.
Unlike the west where women drivers tend to have less accidents and lower insurance rates, car insurance companies in Russia say that women tend to drive slower and have less damage in a crash, but they tend to have more accidents than men.
That’s not stopping Russian women from taking to the road, they value the independence it gives them.
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