... replied to my post saying, "Confuscism: If man let someone drive car, he be driver." Oh,OOOH, that statement is SO, SO true. My spouse, a wonderful human being in every way, canNOT relinquish mental control of the car. Whenever I am behind the wheel, believe me, he is still driving from wherever he is in the car. We always have the major arguments of our marriage over this driving issue...many times I have left the car at the edge of the highway and got out of the driver's seat in a huff! Usually I try and ban him to the back seat to read magazines or sleep; I know when he has woken up because the comments will start almost immediately....</P>

Once, my cousin's wife was riding in the back, when I was driving and KM was giving the usual "do this, don't do this" instructions. "How long have you been driving?" she said, when she was finally getting off. "About thirty years," I replied. "OH!" she said in surprise. " I thought, from your husband's reactions, you had got your licence last month or so...." Did KM look fazed? Not a bit! , who came back in our car from the tiger census, was witness to this. " May I drive for a while now?" "No, you had a headache yesterday." "May I drive now?" "No, this stretch is a bit difficult." "May I drive now?" "No, we are just about to stop for food anyway."...and so it goes....This in spite of the fact that I have more highway driving, hill driving, and highway night driving experience than any other India-resident woman I know!</P> Things are not helped by the fact that the last time we drove extensively (1500 miles in total) in the US, the only time we got lost was when I was asleep and a certain person was navigating as well as driving, and the only time we got pulled up by the cops was when a certain person was driving... I have damaged the car only twice in thirty years of driving: once, when I went over a sudden, unexpected patch of broken road on the highway and the tyre burst (I brought the car back under control)--and this last trip to Bheemeshwari where I tried to drive over a stone without noticing it, and had the front bumper dislodged (I thought it was broken, but turns out it wasn't.) I challenge any male driver who has been driving regularly for 30 years to show me a comparable record. and a few other male friends let me drive their cars. I am deeply sensible of the honour!