Mary Fisher wrote:

I find it easier to get into a conventional car than into the higher-up one.
When I drove a Transit I accepted the reason for a higher position - and
enjoyed driving from up there. I suspect that the latter might be an
attraction for some drivers :-)

Very much so...

I was referring to you "works of the devil" claim. I was not sure if you
meant that child seats were said work, or the lack of child seats in the
"good old days" was?


The current child seats are. Like very many other products they keep being
changed to include more gee gaws. We have a friend who designs them. It's
marketing.

True. So long as they still perform the basic requirement of preventing
their contents becoming a projectile in the event of a crash, they seem
like a worthwhile idea (even if you can't buy one without cup holders!)

(needed to buy a new one recently - I got a ten quid discount form the
man in Halfords (offered - not asked for) on the grounds that the one I
wanted was in "last years colours" and hence was end of line. Just how
shallow are some people?)

You'll have gathered that I'm not a fan of marketing.

Nope, me neither really.

No, but women's lack of spatial awareness was mentioned.

One of the sillier male misapprehensions.

One however that is a well documented scientific fact. ;-)


No it isn't.

Promise you it is. I don't have all the books I need to hand to give you
a decent list of references, but I can find you a few:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbo...al_tests.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4202199.stm
http://www.sfu.ca/~dkimura/articles/sex.htm

For a very readable and entertaining book on the subject (that includes
links to many peer reviewed research papers) I would recommend this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...ternodeltdcomp

What's more, in my experience women are far better at loading a
dishwasher economically. That's an example of spatial awareness.

Also comes down to experience - perhaps women tend to load dishwashers
more often than their menfolk?

It is not that women lack spacial ability completely - more that they
don't (generally) have a dedicated area of the brain for the task.


What utter nonsense.

Easy to demonstrate with an EEG. It is one of the reasons that women
tend to recover from stokes better than men. Their brains tend to have
heavier cross linking and less compartmentalisation. So when a section
of brain tissue is damaged there is far less chance of it wiping out a
single capability (like speech).

Note also that this does this apply equally to all women since it relates
to the brain "sex" rather than genetic sex. (brain sex is controlled by
hormone levels in the uterus during a six week window early in pregnancy -
it is not set by X or Y chromosomes directly. It is also not an "absolute"
male/female thing in the way genetic sex is - it is more of a sliding
scale).


Oh come on! You won't sell me that no matter how you try.

Suit yourself... ;-)

I was also suggesting that it helps if you know what happens when you go
beyond the limit of your vehicles handling.


Which you shouldn't.


i.e. Does it over or under steer, and do you know how to deal with what it
does without loosing control.


A good driver would never get into that position.

That does not hold true from experience I would say. There can be any
number of reasons why you may need to swerve sharply to avoid an
obstacle in the road. Even at low speeds a patch of oil on a road or
black ice can result in you car loosing grip at one end or the other. As
can a tyre unexpectedly deflating.

Why do you think advanced drivers are expected to pass a course on skid
pan driving? As are many professional drivers like bus/coach drivers?

But are you suggesting that all men drivers never lose control?

Nope. They are probably more likely to, since they tend to drive faster
and cover greater mileages.

I've seen lots of men drivers skidding on ice, I never have skidded on ice.

Your point being what exactly? I think you are reading too much into my
comments on driving and coping with the unexpected. They were made
without any intended connection to my other comments on male/female
cognitive skills differences.

I was suggesting that all drivers (i.e. both sexes) should at least
understand the basics of controlling car dynamics when something goes
wrong.


--
Cheers,

John.

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