robertandjean Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Here in France we do find more ladies driving motor homes, although still a minority, but in U.K. we hardly see any. Yet why do not more share the driving? We find it much better to change over and much less tiring if on a longish run. Is it some of you blokes just don't trust your partner to drive the van, or is it you ladies who don't feel confident driving the van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My wife has been driving me round the bend for years, and although a very competent driver she rarely drives the van as she feels much more comfortable and relaxed in the passenger seat - especially when the available width gets unexpectedly tight. I still totally enjoy all types of driving and nothing phases me although after about 8 hours or 400 miles in a day - whichever comes first - I have had enough these days! I am not a good passenger no matter who is driving as I can't stop reading the road ahead and making my own reactions, so on balance I drive and Dot enjoys the passing countryside, giving me a running commentary on what I am missing! It works for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My late partner had a drive or two of the van but she said Ray I'll leave ALL the driving up to you..she wasn't too sure of the dimensions of the van height width length so I got to do all the cabbying Not a problem to me as I was an HGV Driver (Class1) and instructor for many years so it never bothered me lets face it if you want to stop you do find a decent parking spot pull up kettle on job done refill..refresh and away again..3-400 miles a day in France no worries.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancepar Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 When my wife says she wants to drive, she drives, I know who's boss in our house without getting knocked about too much (lol) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My wife drives, but would prefer to be referred to in this context as a woman driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 We have a caravan which my wife has towed happily for many years throughout Europe. The 'tug' is a lazy automatic so she just 'points and steers'. She balks at reversing but anything else is fine and it allows us to split the driving evenly. By 'chance??? or my good planning she gets the 'good bits' such as Barcelona or Bordeaux, while I get the open autoroutes. I regret that I feel anyone who pretends to be ;'macho man' and drives all day is asking for trouble. If you have only 1 driver then cut the time behind the wheel and take a bit longer, and arrive safely. Rather that than have someone's death on your conscience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I think it is mainly because they are bone idle :) Only kidding, honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Dave225 - 2013-06-13 5:11 PM I regret that I feel anyone who pretends to be ;'macho man' and drives all day is asking for trouble. If you have only 1 driver then cut the time behind the wheel and take a bit longer, and arrive safely. Rather that than have someone's death on your conscience. Possibly - however there are different levels of concentration and ability in driving as in all things and some drivers are more able to drive for longer periods than others with the appropriate rest breaks. I think this particularly applies to the 'Clarkson' types as well as many of the professional drivers of this world who see driving as a joy not a chore because chores are far more tiring than pleasures - well generally! Anyway I do absolutely agree that it is foolish driver that continues beyond their ability and fails to stop when too tired to drive to the best of their ability - at whatever time or distance that occurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 robertandjean - 2013-06-13 3:53 PM Here in France we do find more ladies driving motor homes, although still a minority, but in U.K. we hardly see any. Yet why do not more share the driving? We find it much better to change over and much less tiring if on a longish run. Is it some of you blokes just don't trust your partner to drive the van, or is it you ladies who don't feel confident driving the van? Because they are not very good. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 rupert123 - 2013-06-13 5:59 PM Because they are not very good. (lol) I'm glad I never said that - I never even thought about saying it - honest!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 The reason I won't drive the van, is because HE makes me nervous when I drive him in MY car. "TOO CLOSE" "GOING TO FAST" So I refuse to drive the van, and also because I have never driven on the "Wrong side of the road" and we have a right hand drive van and usually only use it over the water. Another job I don't do, is empty the LOO. Any way my job is navigating, deciding where to go, cooking and other" house" jobs PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 PJay - 2013-06-13 6:38 PM Any way my job is navigating, deciding where to go, cooking and other" house" jobs PJay We have our mate TomTom to do the navigating for us so that we can both enjoy the journey without worrying about missed turns! That way when we do stop Mrs T is rested, bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to look after me and the dawg - well that's the theory anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 PJay - 2013-06-13 6:38 PM ......... and also because I have never driven on the "Wrong side of the road" and we have a right hand drive van and usually only use it over the water. PJay Sorry......... I misread your post. thought your van was LHD (not sure how I misunderstood).....if your family dynamic suggests not enjoyable to drive, particularly on wrong side of road, then why change. Most men are nervous, or critical passengers, I think, so maybe we are at fault. It's a shame, sharing jobs is good, and I like your reference to loo emptying, regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs T Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Has tracker borrowed my twin, I didn't know you cared! Mrs T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 PJay - 2013-06-13 6:38 PM The reason I won't drive the van, is because HE makes me nervous when I drive him in MY car. "TOO CLOSE" "GOING TO FAST" So I refuse to drive the van, and also because I have never driven on the "Wrong side of the road" and we have a right hand drive van and usually only use it over the water. Another job I don't do, is empty the LOO. Any way my job is navigating, deciding where to go, cooking and other" house" jobs PJay I taught my late partner to navigate properly and she was quite pleased with her results the real test was.. going across France into Spain she got us there and back so Job Done..We would decide where we were going work it out on the map and plot it all in the sat nav was back up.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Mrs T - 2013-06-13 9:00 PM Has tracker borrowed my twin, I didn't know you cared! Mrs T Ah but I do - as a long time admirer of the female form in all it's manifestations I recognise class when I see it MrsT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 PJay - 2013-06-13 6:38 PM The reason I won't drive the van, is because HE makes me nervous when I drive him in MY car. "TOO CLOSE" "GOING TO FAST" So I refuse to drive the van, and also because I have never driven on the "Wrong side of the road" and we have a right hand drive van and usually only use it over the water. Another job I don't do, is empty the LOO. Any way my job is navigating, deciding where to go, cooking and other" house" jobs PJay We have "Blue" jobs and "Pink" jobs in our house.....but driving isn't one of them. Emptying the loo is definately a "blue" job, after I'd shown her how to do it.....just in case. I'm buying her a new socket set, just in case, not that I would know what to do with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Not sure this is correct, we often see ladies driving Motorhome in UK & have seen a few with female only occupants. Today (doing some gardening) 5 Motorhomes went by & 3 had ladies driving. So on that small poll 60% female (!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 In France the reason is quite simple, and I'm surprised a pair of seasoned Hexagonners like robertandjean haven't noticed it. Madame doesn't drive le camping-car, because she's needed when they get to the aire, to get out and give Monsieur both verbal and semaphore directions, while he reverses into a parking space. He doesn't, of course, use mirrors for this, as they can neither shout nor wave their arms. (edit) Nearly forgot: at the end of the operation, Monsieur must of course get out and check that Madame has directed him to precisely the right spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Tracker - 2013-06-13 7:05 PM PJay - 2013-06-13 6:38 PM Any way my job is navigating, deciding where to go, cooking and other" house" jobs PJay We have our mate TomTom to do the navigating for us so that we can both enjoy the journey without worrying about missed turns! That way when we do stop Mrs T is rested, bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to look after me and the dawg - well that's the theory anyway! We do have a TOM TOM to do the navigating, but it cannot yet decide where we will go next .(Maybe One Day!! We are sitting in Calpe in Hot sun, trying to decide where to go next .It's getting hotter by the day, so will probably go north, where it will be cooler, just got to decide . PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairweather camper Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I do all the driving, it started off with me driving because my husband drove for a living and I drove to give him a rest, now we are retired I have just carried on (wait a minute thats not fair now) have to rectify that on next trip. Happy motoring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Tony Jones - 2013-06-14 11:59 PM In France the reason is quite simple, and I'm surprised a pair of seasoned Hexagonners like robertandjean haven't noticed it. Madame doesn't drive le camping-car, because she's needed when they get to the aire, to get out and give Monsieur both verbal and semaphore directions, while he reverses into a parking space. He doesn't, of course, use mirrors for this, as they can neither shout nor wave their arms. (edit) Nearly forgot: at the end of the operation, Monsieur must of course get out and check that Madame has directed him to precisely the right spot. That made me laugh Tony never thought about it before, yes it really does happen just like that. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Mrs Mental never drove the CB but happy to drive the panel van. years back when we had a VW westfalia camper van she used that for work (2nd vehicle) and when we had the truck campers she drove the 4x4 trucks also...but a CB a step to far :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minstrel Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I didn't like driving our coach built much as it was a cab designed for men to drive - men mostly being taller and with longer arms to use the steering wheel that was at a very shallow angle. I'm 5 ft 4 so my 5ft 10 husband found it much easier. The new van is so much more car like, I'm certainly going to do my share of driving. The only thing is, will he reciprocate by studying the map in good time, as Tom tom is nowhere near infallible and give me clear directions. The other thing is, will he stay awake to guide me. The last time I dozed off, having said - it's the next junction - I woke to find we had gone past the turning, and this was to visit my father, something we do very regularly! I rest my case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nona farm Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I love to drive!. I also love being a lady driver. My husband has real problems with his eyes and has decided it would be safer if he didn't drive our motorhome. I think he is amazing to make that decision as he still has his full licence, however it makes it so much easier for me. Yes, people look at me in a funny sort of way , especially here in the uk. But we love our travels all over the Uk and Europe, and I think he is proud of me driving our big Swift Sundance. It's so easy to drive, and I have the same licence as he does, but I can see!!!!!!! although I am a different sex to put it nicely!. We will continue for as long as I am able, but I don't need the pathetic looks from the macho males. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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