Women are scooting more than ever

Women riding scooters has become a pretty common and natural sight in urban India, and to our amazement the number has dramatically rose in the last few years. One among 100 scooter/bike riders today is a woman rider in real-time traffic flow sense. Although the estimate may not give an accurate picture, it is near about the same on city roads.



Lately young ladies have taken scooter riding pretty seriously. There were times when two wheelers were only men's assets and even if you would catch a few women riding a scooter they might have not known the mechanics or the scooter specifications. But today's workingwomen the college-goers, workingwomen in fact women in general have found their much-needed independence with their scooters. Now they hardly stop by to take a rickshaw or jump into a bus or wait for the male member of the family to drop them to their destination. They cruise along confidently in heavy traffic snarls with absolute ease and grace.




Scooters are women's new best friends
Take this a serious comment. The number of women riding scooters could be lesser as compared to the male counterparts nevertheless the trend zoomed away to greater heights. And if you look back 20 years before the scooting women (there were hardly any in number) received shocked glances or men frowning at them as they were spotted on roads. Let us be honest- even women looked at scooting women as alien creatures.

The present day women are super confident and have taken on the male- dominated machine quite challengingly. After all this generation believes in gender equality, and rightly so the Hero Honda's advertisement promoted its brand Pleasure with the punch line "why should boys have all the fun." Although it could be a marketing tag line, it aptly describes the present day Indian women and her attitude to driving.

For most women their scooters are their darling friends that help them break the shackles of dependence. Today's women have thorough knowledge about the scooters-they will have ample details about the scooter specification, the latest brands, prices etc. In the coming days the scooter manufacturing companies will see more demand from women and to keep up to this growing demand a few manufacturers are going all-out to roll out the best machine. There are a few scooters that well became women clichéd. Boys do hesitate to ride a TVS Scooty. And TVS promotes some of its brands for exclusively women.

Color and style for women scooterists
The most striking feature that any rider desires for in a bike or a scooter is its looks, color and of course the style. The same holds good for women riders too, in fact, women are more conscious of their scooter's looks. So to cater to this need most scooters manufactured for women are designed aerodynamic, sleek, light-weight and are available in a wide of range of colors. This is a major advantage for both the rider and the manufacturer, as the latter can boost the sales and the former will have great choice. Well, whatever be the color of the scooter it is fast becoming the women's world!

After all that I can't finish the article without telling you some strategies/tips that can help the women scooterists more visible on the road. Maybe you'll have your own tips for better visibility. So here you go:
- Don bright colored clothing - Maybe something like glowy yellow or orange or even colors like red will make good choice to make you stand (should I say scoot) out on the road.
- Reflective materials such as goggles on your person and reflectors on your bike immediately grab the on-goers'/on-lookers' attention.
- Additional lighting on the scooters as you see some men sport could well be attention getters.
- Then grab attention with your confident yet defensive riding. Keep your head straight and look ahead. Calculate and judge the distance of potential hazards if any and be smart.
- Follow lane discipline and even the traffic signal etiquette.
The scooter culture has changed a lot and it will still change in the years to come. Doesn't it make the road more colourful and brighter? So go ahead and scoot away confidently.