Police on wrong road with sexist driving advice
Print Edition
Don’t wear high heels while driving. Make sure you release the handbrake before setting off. And it’s down to nature that sometimes you’ll find that you’re going in the wrong direction.
These are among the advice and observations offered by the Beijing police department to women drivers in a series of microblog postings.
They have led to a backlash among Chinese Internet users who say the tips are sexist.
Beijing police seemed unperturbed by the criticism, offering the following observation late on Tuesday.
“Some women drivers lack a sense of direction, and while driving often hesitate and are indecisive about which road they should take.”
It adds that women drivers “when driving by themselves, are not able to find the way to their destination, even if they’ve been there many times.”
Another posting features a cartoon depicting a confrontation between a police officer and a woman driving a vehicle shaped like a high-heel shoe.
It relates to a story of a woman driver surnamed Liu who caused an accident and then told police: “I hit the brake, but my shoe got stuck!” “Women drivers, please change into flat shoes when driving,” the posting warns.
Another driving tip points out that “while the handbrake is used for stopping the car’s movement, quite a few new women drivers often get on the road without releasing it.”
The posts appear on the police department’s verified account, which has nearly six million followers.
One posting cited an example of a “careless” woman driver who struck a pedestrian, then forgot to lock her door when she went to check how the victim was. She returned to her car to find that someone had stolen her wallet.
“After getting into an accident, it’s easy for women drivers to get nervous and panic,” the police posting said.
“Their minds usually go blank, and it’s easy for them to let bad people exploit the opportunity,” it added.
Web users have responded with anger at what they see as sexist postings. “Surely this official microblog is planning to devote its next posting to tips for male drivers?” one user asked.
Another wrote: “All new drivers have these kinds of problems, regardless of gender Ñ not to mention that the vast majority of accidents are caused by men.”
According to a World Health Organization estimate in March, 77 percent of road traffic deaths globally are of men.
Meanwhile on a road in Beijing one woman van driver dismissed the police claims.
“What do you mean, women can’t drive?” she asked, jerking her head toward the back of her vehicle and laughing.
“Take a look, it’s male passengers that I’m carrying.”
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