Women Behind the Wheel: The Freedom of Driving
The stereotype is that women drivers are bad drivers. This stereotype no doubt got its start in the early days of the 20th century when motoring was thought of as a male pursuit.
Some pioneering women thought it was all nonsense. A woman could operate an automobile just as well as a man.
Women were drawn to driving for several reasons:
- Driving allowed rural women to get into town faster.
- Women wanted to prove they could master a car just as easily as farm machinery or home appliances.
- Motoring provided a sense of adventure and independence.
- Cars were family vehicles that could be used for travel.
Men’s Objections to Women Drivers
Men had all sorts of objections to women drivers. They said women were too emotional to drive, that they wouldn’t be comfortable being alone in a vehicle. It was even suggested that cars were too technologically challenging for a woman.
These objections were purely sexist as the first person to drive an automobile long distance was a woman. Bertha Benz, wife of Karl Benz from the company known today as Mercedes-Benz, drove 66 miles in 1886. It took slightly less than 12 hours.
By 1900, Karl Benz’s company was selling 600 cars annually, making it the largest automaker in the world.
Cost, of course, remained an issue for both men and women. In 1912, a Ford Model T cost $575. Only the most affluent could afford to purchase their own vehicle.
During World War I, women drivers became heroines. Women were employed as ambulance drivers. They also took over men’s positions in public transportation.
Driver’s Licenses
Believe it or not, the first driver’s licenses were issued in the early 1900s. Compulsory testing started a few years earlier in some cities. Other areas required no testing at all.
The first woman in the United States to obtain a license was Anne Rainsford French Bush. She “obtained a ‘steam engineer’s license,'” the U.S. Department of Transportation says, “which entitled her to operate a ‘four-wheeled vehicle powered by steam or gas.'”
Not Everyone Preferred Cars
Some women were bolder than others. Like this woman, they embraced another new technology — the motorcycle.
Saudi Women Can Drive
Saudi Arabia became the last country to allow women to drive, issuing the first licenses in June 2018.
King Salmon issued a royal decree six months earlier lifting the ban. Women in Saudi Arabia need a male guardian for most things, but one is not be required for a license.
Activists had worked for decades to reach this point. Women who defied the law and drove anyway were jailed.
“Many of these activists have been harshly penalized and still remain behind bars, and the struggle continues,” Yahoo News says. “Only a month ago [May 2018], the Saudi government imprisoned about a dozen women who previously rallied against the driving ban — the same one that has just been lifted — and have been noted critics of the male guardianship policy that governs most of Saudi society.”
This is a great step forward for women, but clearly more most be done.
Where to Purchase the WWI Trilogy
This post is a companion piece to Melina Druga’s WWI Trilogy: Angel of Mercy, Those Left Behind and Adjustment Year. The trilogy focuses on Hettie and her family as they navigate the challenges and heartbreak World War I brings.
Angel of Mercy: A nurse reluctantly sacrifices her career for marriage. An impending war will change her, and her husband’s, life forever. Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover. Click here for a full list of retailers.
Those Left Behind: The brewing winds of war will soon rip the family apart. Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover. Click here for a full list of retailers.
Adjustment Year: A war nurse returns home. Society expects her to carry on as if the Great War never happened. But how can she? Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover. Click here for a full list of retailers.