A woman at the wheel, constant danger — a dated and now ironic proverb that was once used seriously but is today always quoted with self-aware humour or as an example of old-fashioned prejudice.
This proverb dates from the early days of the automobile in Lombardy, when cars were predominantly a male domain and the idea of a woman driving was genuinely shocking to many. Milan, as Italy's most industrial and modern city, was also where gender roles changed fastest: by the 1950s Milanese women were driving Vespas and small Fiats, and by the 1970s the proverb was already outdated. Today it is quoted almost exclusively ironically — as an example of the absurdity of old prejudices, or by men who know perfectly well that the statistics do not support it (women have fewer accidents than men in Italy). The Milanese woman who hears it today is likely to laugh and then point out that the men in the family have had three accidents to her zero.
Lombard proverb from the early automobile era. Now quoted almost exclusively with irony or as a historical curiosity. The statistics on road accidents by gender consistently disprove it.
A Milanese grandfather joking at the dinner table
— La nonna si è presa la macchina. — Donna al volant, pericol costant! — Nonno, ho guidato per cinquant'anni senza un graffio. Tu hai distrutto tre macchine.
— Grandmother has taken the car. — A woman at the wheel, constant danger! — Grandpa, I have driven for fifty years without a scratch. You have destroyed three cars.
A female taxi driver in Milan
Il mio cliente di ieri ha scherzato: donna al volant, pericol costant. Gli ho fatto notare che era la mia sedicesima ora di guida senza incidenti.
My client yesterday joked: a woman at the wheel, constant danger. I pointed out that it was my sixteenth hour of driving without an accident.
Two Milanese women at a driving school
— L'istruttore ha detto donna al volant, pericol costant scherzando. — Sì, scherzando. Sa perfettamente che le donne hanno meno incidenti.
— The instructor said a woman at the wheel, constant danger as a joke. — Yes, as a joke. He knows perfectly well that women have fewer accidents.
A feminist professor at a Milan lecture on gender stereotypes
Il proverbio donna al volant, pericol costant è un perfetto esempio di come la cultura popolare cristallizzi i pregiudizi. Le statistiche dicono l'opposto.
The proverb a woman at the wheel, constant danger is a perfect example of how popular culture crystallises prejudice. The statistics say the opposite.