In what's to be the first of a series of posts on gender and travel on the New York Times Freakonomics blog, Eric A. Morris lists some differences between men's and women's driving habits. Men typically have longer commutes than women, and women tend to take shorter trips in general. Men also make up a large majority of truck drivers and chauffeurs. And perceptions of female drivers remain mired in stereotype. Morris writes,

What's more, the "woman driver" stereotype hasn't quite deserted us entirely; as Tom Vanderbilt reported in his book Traffic, men and woman are more likely to honk at woman drivers than male ones. And, perhaps surprisingly, University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz reports that in 9 of 10 households that identify themselves as "feminist," the man does most of the driving when both partners are in the car.

This last statistic hits home with me, as a longtime feminist and driving-hater. Whenever I'm in a relationship, the dude does 99% of the driving. I once set out on a road trip with a boyfriend, in my car, and then pulled over after ten minutes so he could take the wheel. It's not that I'm into traditional gender roles on the road — I'm just deeply embarrassed to have anyone, especially someone I love, watching me drive. I'm not actually that bad a driver — I've never (knock wood) been in an accident, and I've only gotten one ticket (for going a blistering 41 mph). It's just that I've never really gotten comfortable behind the wheel, and I feel like driving actually destroys the traits in me that I associate with feminism. Ordinarily a confident and independent person, I become nervous, dithering, and indecisive, and I frankly don't want anyone to see me like that.

Of course, the reason I never learned to love the open road may be gendered as well. My parents were restrictive about my early driving in a way they weren't with my brother, forbidding the freeway and preferring that I got rides from friends rather than driving myself. Then again, I'm also the firstborn, and I was a manifestly shitty driver at the beginning, largely because I have no hand-eye coordination and I can't tell left from right. I'm not sure if I would have gotten over my distaste if I were male, and forced by social pressures into the driver's seat, but I do know it's just as unfair to expect men to be awesome drivers as it is to expect women to be terrible ones.

I go back and forth about whether my driving problems or a flaw in my feminism. On the one hand, it's not great that any boyfriend automatically becomes my DD. On the other, driving isn't particularly good for the planet, and in an ideal world, we'd all do it less. Since I moved to New York, I don't have a car anymore, and construction aside, I heartily enjoy letting the subway conductors do my driving for me. I still think the fact that men are the default drivers in feminist households is troubling, and it disturbs me that many still assume women will be worse drivers than men. The truth is, some of the calmest, most confident drivers I know are women — and for now, I'll yield the wheel to them.

Sex And The SUV: Men, Women, And Travel Behavior [NYT Freakonomics Blog]

Velez, an Army private, had recently returned from Iraq, where she disarmed bombs. She had served for three years, recently reenlisted for another three, and wanted to become a psychologist to help other soldiers deal with the stress of military life. Her friend Sasha Ramos says she respected the position of Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter. "He's somebody she would have saluted," Ramos said. "It's degrading to all soldiers that he did something like that." • Vandy Beth Glenn has filed a federal lawsuit to get her job at the Georgia General Assembly back after she was fired for being transgender. She had been working as Glenn Morrison and living as Vandy Beth, but she and her supervisor agreed she would start dressing as a woman on Halloween 2006. But she was fired by Georgia Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby, who said in a deposition, "It makes me think about things I don't like to think about, particularly at work … I think it's unsettling to think of someone dressed in women's clothing with male sexual organs inside that clothing." • According to the American Psychological Association's annual stress survey released earlier this week, women are more likely than men to say they lack the willpower to make lifestyle changes to improve their health. But, Helen Coons, director of the Women's Mental Health Center in Philadelphia, says "willpower" is a misleading term because women may really mean they're too exhausted to make changes and think of themselves as being "selfish" if they put their needs ahead of others'. • A survey of 1,212 doctors published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that many doctors do unnecessary pap smears, adding to heath care costs. Doctors were asked what screening they'd recommend in various situations and most said they'd give a pap smear to a 35-year-old woman with no history of cervical cancer whose cervix had been removed, which is inconsistent with guidelines from several medical associations. • Though many men think women are mainly interested in color when buying a car, a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs for CarMax found 33% of women say price is the most important factor, followed by reliability and fuel efficiency. • Canadian researchers compared 6-year-old children who were breast-fed for 6 months with those who were breast-fed for only three months and found that there were no differences in intelligence, behavior, or blood pressure. While longer breast-feeding gave the children an immunity boost as infants, the researchers say the advantages of breastfeeding do not include lower risks of obesity, asthma, allergy, or dental problems in the long term. • Elizabeth Lambert, the NCAA women's soccer player whose unsportswomanlike behavior was featured on SportsCenter last night has been suspended indefinitely from the University of New Mexico's team. "Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," said her coach, Kit Vela. • A prosecution source in the Amanda Knox trial says her DNA is on the handle of a knife used to kill Meredith Kercher, but the defense still insists there was DNA tampering at the scene of the crime and that the kitchen knife doesn't match Kercher's wounds. Closing arguments in the case begin in two weeks. • Mary Karr, who just published her memoir Lit, says she developed her storytelling ability as a child. She and her mother would play a game when they were driving or her mom was hungover. "Tell me a story she liked to say, meaning charm me - my life in this Texas suckhole is duller than a rubber knife. Amaze me," says Karr. • "Presidents hate the press," says White House reporter Helen Thomas. "They hate me most of the time. ... Asking questions about Watergate, about Monica Lewinsky, they're questions that will hurt and yet you can't avoid them. If you do avoid them, it shows you don't have guts." •

Volvo just launched WhatDrivesEdward.com. Because nothing says says "vampire" like a shiny Swedish "crossover" vehicle. (Watch out! The dramatic violin music on that website might… put you to sleep.)

Writes AdWeek's Kenneth Hein:

"Presumably with Twilight being a tween girl franchise, they are hoping that the message might be picked up by moms to use the Volvo to take their adolescent little vampires to soccer practice," said Lucian James of the brand strategy consultancy Agenda.

Wow, that sounds… absolutely ridiculous! Here's how they're tying together Edward Cullen's creepy obsessive need to take care of Bella with a $34,000 hatchback:

There's more to life than a Volvo. There's having the power to keep safe what you hold most dear.

Lame.

Just like there are 7 vampires better than Edward Cullen, there are at least two spooky cars better than his dumb Volvo:

The Munsters' car.

The Addams Family car.

Because just like Edward, a the Volvo XC60 doesn't have any bite.

Twilight's 'New Moon' Rises For Volvo [AdWeek]
WhatDrivesEdward.com [Volvo]

Earlier: 7 Vampires Better Than Twilight's Edward Cullen

[Abu Dhabi, October 30. Image via Getty]

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 30: Local fan takes photographs from the grandstand during practice for the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on October 30, 2009 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

[Vienna, September 22. Image via Getty]

An Austrian woman walks on an empty main road called ''Burg Ring '' shortly after it was closed for eight hours to participate in Europe's Car Free day in the heart of Vienna on September 22, 2009.The closure of the street caused traffic chaos in several parts of Vienna.AFP PHOTO/Joe KLAMAR (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

[Oklahoma City, June 2. Image via Getty]

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JUNE 2: IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher laughs with the RedHawks mascot before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Oklahoma City RedHawks game at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark June 2, 2009 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo By Tom Pennington/Getty Images for the Texas Motor Speedway)

[Indianapolis, May 8. Image via Getty]

INDIANAPOLIS - MAY 08: Danica Patrick drives of the #7 Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 8, 2009 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

[Gloucestershire, March 22. Image via Bauer-Griffin.]

• A new survey suggests that fathers are better at giving driving lessons than mothers, who tend to panic, while dads just swear. • Brazilian researchers have found that among teenage girls, there are alarmingly high rates of STDs that often go undetected. • The BBC has an amazing video of a monkey teaching its young to floss with human hair. • More monkey news: zoologists have found that monkey tantrums should never go ignored. • From the Institute of No Shit Studies: men in their 60s drive the most powerful cars. • A Miami evangelist claiming to be the anti-Christ has gone into hiding following a court ruling to pay his ex-wife $2.2 million. Wonder if Satan will help him out of this one. • Some asshole put his wife up for sale, describing her as "Nagging Wife. No Tax, Not MOT. Very high maintenance - some rust." He says he was shocked that he received several offers. • The Hijabi Monologues, a little known play about Muslim women who wear the headscarf, is currently showing in LA. • A little over a year ago, Wajeha al-Huwaider made a pledged to get the Saudi ban on women driving lifted by Women's Day 2009. Sadly, the ban is still in place. • The man who threw his shoe at our esteemed former President has been sentenced to three years in prison by an Iraqi court. • This is not exactly news to any American college student, but the American Dietetic Association has found that 58% of "kid cereals" are actually being consumed by adults. • Sad: a survey of Boston teens found that nearly half of them believe Rihanna was responsible for Chris Brown's assault on her. •  Could Coulter's reign of terror be coming to a close? Ann Coulter's new book Guilty isn't selling nearly as well as her others did. • 

Given Mom's outburst, it's no surprise to me that moms use car trips as a chance to talk to their kids. According a study by insurance company Sheilas' Wheels [we don't get the placement of the apostrophe either — maybe it's an Australian thing?], 11 percent of moms have give their kids a ride somewhere just to get a chance to talk to them. And 56 percent say it's easier to talk in the car than other places. Some mothers cited limited eye contact as helpful when bringing up sensitive topics, but the article also brings up another perk of the car conversation: kids are trapped. Unless you want to jump out at fifty miles an hour, you have to listen — or, in my case, promise. [Telegraph]

Target Women: Cars [Current TV]
Earlier: Condoms, Cleaning Supplies & Crap: A Q&A With Sarah Haskins

Though these luxuries are common internationally, in Iran they are seen as features for women who can't handle a complex machine. And while the introduction female-specific cars only highlights the gender gap in Iran, some Iranian women are using cars to their advantage, as drivers in Iran's new women-only taxi service.

Female drivers are not uncommon in Iran (unlike Saudi Arabia, where women are forbidden to drive) but there are still many restrictions on women. Iranians may not be in the company of an unrelated member of the opposite sex, a crime punishable with lashes or jail time. Public transportation is segregated, with women sitting in the rear of buses and on separate train cars, but the rules are more lax in cabs. Women commonly share taxis with male strangers in breach of Iranian law.

However the male creators of the Womens' Wireless Taxi say that the service was not created to enforce religious edicts, but to provide a safe travel option for women in Tehran. The company was created in November 2006 in response to increasing instances of rape and sexual assault in Tehran. Police estimated that 30% of sexual offenses were committed by male taxi drivers and women were advised not to travel alone in cabs.

"Our agency is a symbol of freedom and democracy, not of segregation," said Mohsen Oroji, Womens' Wireless Taxi's managing director in The Guardian. "We are providing a service for those women who choose us. It's not obligatory."

The male directors claimed shortly after the company's creation that their goal was to be agents of female emancipation by creating jobs for women, and so far this has been the case for their employees. The company only accepts female applicants for their telephone operators and taxi drivers and currently employs 700 drivers who handle an average of 2,500 calls per day. The drivers have to turn in a share of their profits to the company, but they can set their own work schedules.

Driving a cab enables Parvaneh Soltani, a 35-year-old divorced mother of two, to take home more than $12,000 a year, almost twice Iran's average annual household income. It also gives her the luxury of not needing to re-marry. Another driver, Zahra Farjami, 30, has earned more equality at home, as she makes nearly $10,000 a year, much more than her husband. "Men always think that women can't be better than them; I didn't used to think they could either," she said, "But once I got this job, I realized that women can earn more than men."

While unemployment rates for Iranian women are still high, self-employment among women is on the rise, partially because women are learning how to use the gender divide to their advantage. "Women have been able to turn gender segregation on its head," says Roksana Bahramitash, author of the forthcoming book Veiled Employment. "They are entering into the labor market, they are educated and they want to have an independent lifestyle."

The Islamic Republic's Women at the Wheel [Time]
In Gender-Sensitive Iran, A Car Designed Specially For Women [The Guardian]
Driving With The Wind In Your Headscarf [Portfolio]