JANUARY 2009

PRINT & TEACH LESSON JULY 2010

DRIVING MEN MAD

advanced
Language Function: discussing issues; reading comprehension
upper-intermediate
intermediate
Vocabulary/Topic: men and women; driving; female drivers; car expressions
pre-intermediate

focus on talking
Activity 1. Who are the better drivers: men or women? Read the opinions below and decide who believes men
drive better than women, and who thinks otherwise. Whose opinions do you agree with?

1. Men may drive the car better, but
women cooperate with traffic better.
My wife doesn't know the difference
between the radiator and the lug
wrench. Doesn't that make me a
better driver? No.
Michael
3. I will always maintain that men are
the better drivers. The reason for this
is because men seem to drive quite a
few more miles than women - all
women seem to do is drive the kids
to school
Jane
will be able to avoid an accident
better than a woman. The man’s
thinking is based on simple logic,
and problem solving, whereas a
woman will think with emotion and
will panic quicker.
Matthew

2. As a woman, I'm usually the first to
defend my sex. But when it comes to
female drivers on the road, I stay as
far away from them as possible.
Fiona
4. I would say women are better drivers.
They are known for their ability to
multitask. Men are not
Jeanette
5. When it comes to a risky situation I
think that more times than not a man
6. Women are better drivers, safety
conscious, relatively less risk-takers
in driving when compared to men.
Women could be slow learners in
driving, but that's just the nature of
women, being cautious
Komo

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focus on comprehension
Activity 2. Read the article to check whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. A study shows that majority of men don’t feel safe when their
female partner is driving a car.
2. According to the study, men’s biggest problem is lack of
concentration when driving.
3. Women are blamed by men for not keeping their cars in a straight
line, flicking the accelerator, getting too close to cars before
overtaking, braking too late and braking too hard.
4. Women are more likely to have a head-on collision than men.
5. Women are involved in more accidents at slower speeds.

The Ways Women

Drive Men Crazy
Daily Mail - 22 July 2010

It's those three little words that men dread to hear from
their partners: "Can I drive?"
A study has revealed that more than a third of men don't
feel safe when their other half is driving.
Millions of men find themselves pushing their feet down
into the footwell because their wife or partner brakes late,
while others spend large chunks of a journey gripping the
edges of the passenger seat.
One in 10 said they had been forced to grab the steering
wheel because their other half took her eyes off the road
and careered towards the traffic island. A similar number
have asked their wife or partner to pull over so they can
take the wheel.
A spokesman for online market research giant
OnePoll.com, which questioned 3 000 men for the study,
said: "Most feel they are better drivers than the women in
their lives.
"They believe they concentrate a lot better, read road
situations more quickly and clearly and have better
reactions.
"One in five even went as far as to say they were never
able to relax when their partner was driving." The study
also found that one in five couples had argued about
their respective driving skills - or lack thereof.
Men's biggest complaints were that women were too
easily distracted by children, scenery or other motorists.
Other grumbles included allowing the car to "roll" from
side to side instead of keeping it in a straight line and not
staying away from rumble strips.
Flicking the accelerator, which results in a stop-start feel
to the ride, also came high on the list, as did getting too
close to cars before overtaking.
Braking too late was the second most common
complaint, while braking too hard came in sixth. Not
braking at all surprisingly didn't make the top 10.
The claim that women don't concentrate as well as they
should behind the wheel may have some merit.
A study last month revealed that British women put in
more claims for collisions on traffic circles and hitting
cars from behind.
Men were more prone to head-on collisions, hitting crash
barriers and trees, or driving up and down embankments,
according to the study of more than two million accidents
over five years by insurance company Diamond.
Diamond managing director Sian Lewis said: "Women
tend to be in more accidents at slower speeds, where
cars are close together, while men have more high-speed
accidents where it is easy to lose control.
"Possibly men drive faster and more aggressively than
women, while women are more easily distracted than
men behind the wheel."

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focus on talking
Activity 3. Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you feel save when your partner is driving? Why yes /

LET’S TALK Why not?

2. Do you think a similar study carried out in your country would

give similar results?

3. Do men in your country feel they are better drivers than

women?

4. If the claim that women are more easily distracted when

driving was scientifically proven, would you think women
should pay higher insurance premiums?

focus on vocabulary
Activity 4. Answer these questions with the expressions from the article.

1. What do millions of men do when they believe their

wives or partners brake too late?

They p _ _ _ _ their feet down into the f _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

2. What do people do when they don’t feel safe in a car?

They g _ _ _ the e _ _ _ _ of the passenger s _ _ _ .

3. What do we call a series of raised strips along the edge

of a road, changing the noise a vehicle’s tires make on
the surface and so warning drivers of the edge of the
road/

a r _ _ _ _ _ strip

4. What do we call an accident where the front ends of two

vehicles hit each other?

a h _ _ _ - _ _ collision

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DRIVING MEN MAD

focus on vocabulary: CAR EXPRESSIONS

Activity 5. Complete the sentences with appropriate words.

1. In order to drive off you must ____________________ the car in gear.

2. To drive backwards, you must be in ____________________ gear.

3. When you drive faster you ____________________ up.

4. When you reduce speed you ____________________ down.

5. If another vehicle has the right of way, you must ____________________ way.

6. When you pull in too closely in front of another vehicle after having overtaken it you
____________________ in.

7. When you stop a vehicle you ____________________ up.

8. When you move into traffic or when you overtake another vehicle you ____________________
out.

9. When you follow a road that branches to the right, you ____________________ right.

10. When you drive slowly in the middle, not allowing other cars behind to pass you
____________________ the road.

11. If you park your vehicle in an unauthorized place, you may get a parking
____________________ .

12. A ____________________ is a fast road with two lanes in each direction.

13. A ____________________ is a narrower part of a wide road where the traffic is held up.

14. A ____________________ is a wide road passing around a town or an area of heavy traffic.

15. A ____________________ is a widening of the road without kerbing, to allow you to stop and
take a break.

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