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Girl Racers Need Speed

—Anne Humphrey

As we approached the roundabout at great speed, I knew my driver was simply trying to do better than the spotty 18 year old “done up” Fiesta bloke next to us. The lights had turned red by the time we got there so it was us at the front with the Fiesta Kid right alongside – bound to be a stand off. Both cars lined up, revving each other out of existence, each edging more and more over the line to try and get a head start on the other. Finally the lights flashed amber and that was it, my skull was thrust backwards into the headrest and we were away, leaving our opponent standing.

This incident probably sounds like another case of too much testosterone and nowhere to go, of blokes trying to outdo one another by pretending that they are Michael Schumacher and that their little Fiestas or Clios can do the same as a Ferrari (and trying to make their little engines sound bigger by poking holes in the exhaust pipe). The thing is, though, the driver driving my car, was actually a girl.

There seems to be this new generation of girls who wanna have fun behind the wheel rather than in the back seat. Boy racers are so last century; the 21st century boy is more likely to be female, perhaps as a result of changed expectations among my age group. We girls and boys have grown up equal, mostly treated the same, although there are still some exceptions to the rule. So it’s hardly surprising if the new and improved balance between men and women across society is reproduced on the roads with girls in cars racing their young male counterparts.

As we made our exit off the roundabout I asked my friend Julie, what makes her want to be faster than every other driver on the road. “I don’t know what it is,” she replied. “I just have to prove that I’m better than them, and I have a need for speed”. I felt obliged to nod along with the answer she gave, but I could not help thinking: surely such driving is dangerous? After we made it home (in one piece) I questioned her mother about Julie’s driving. Her answer was as long as an essay, and almost made me wish I had not asked:

“I wish she would slow down…One of these days she will crash…I’ve told her to indicate at every turn….”, and so on, and so on.

Although Julie is fast, and sometimes, yes, she does “forget” to indicate, she seems totally in control of her car and has never yet had an accident.

I believe that the new era of girl racers also has a lot to do with the cars now available and the services that go with them. The Ka, for example, is more often than not considered a girl’s car because of its size and style. You can get insurance from Sheila’s Wheels, a company catering exclusively for women, and you can even accessorise your vehicle with a pink fluffy steering wheel-holder if you wish – though women are not the only ones who buy these. But if such niceties were not available would girl racers still exist? The answer must be yes, since all these new things have come about as a result of girl racers. The market looks set to expand and soon car magazines won’t have a predominantly male audience but more of a mixture of female and male readers, or perhaps a wider range of auto magazines with different titles catering either for women or for men.

Some girls only want to have fun, and their happiness is a warm engine. But speed does cause accidents, and young drivers must learn to watch not only their own driving but everyone else’s, too. OK, serious message over: Julie’s giving me a lift into Uni………

Anne Humphrey is studying Journalism

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