“Woman at the wheel, dead at the turn”. You’ve probably heard this adage before, as sexist as it is wrong. However, the numbers paint a completely different reality, as revealed by the government delegation for road safety in a statement released on Monday. In fact, 84% of those responsible or presumed responsible for fatal driving accidents are men. They also made up 78% of road fatalities and 88% of young drivers killed in 2022. And when it comes to drunkenness, the percentage rises dramatically: 93% of drunk drivers involved in an accident are… men.
Could masculinity be an aggravating factor, in the same way as alcohol, fatigue or narcotics?
“ Be the man you want to be, but be a man alive »
The message is clear. The automotive world, closely linked to a certain vision of manhood, struggles to clearly address its gender biases, with still devastating consequences. ” These stereotypes help to perpetuate the idea that men, unlike women, have some form of natural aptitude for driving, resulting ironically in turning excessive speeds, dangerous overtaking or the certainty of “holding the alcohol” into signs of a all-male skill ” reads the press release from the Road Safety. The campaign will be broadcast today, on television, networks and in cinemas, in the form of videos: we see young fathers welcoming their children with tenderness. In the background, a text read by Pio Marmaï, which invites us to free ourselves from the chains and social pressures: “You don’t have to follow what people expect of a man. Write the man you want to be.
Towards a common reflection on manhood
Victoire Tuaillon had already addressed this issue in an episode of her podcast Les Couilles sur la Table, entitled Men and cars. There he received the automobile sociologist Yoann Demoli, who then highlighted the historical link between the automobile and the clichés around masculinity: “Since its inception, the car has been seen as a vehicle for sporting success, a vehicle where you can test your manhood, drive fast, dangerously…”. The expert also sees a very strong class dimension in it, recalling the excess mortality of young workers in this type of accident.
The Road Safety press release aims to launch a message of benevolence for “to invite men to free themselves from social expectations that encourage them to associate masculinity with risk-taking. » What if the solution to limit road accidents, as Victoire Tuaillon suggests, is simply to promote other models of masculinity?
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
