Pink ‘girl’ zones?

[kikie]

This is what one PR company thinks Britain’s roads should look like.

If women ruled the world, this is what London’s roads would look like. Or something.

One (misguided) insurance company has put forward the idea of ‘pink lanes’ – female-only flyovers so women can soar over busy roads and nip ahead of that early morning rush-hour traffic.

Another shows how a gender-separated lane would apparently allow women to freely zip along the motorway without the fear of male drivers getting in the way (presumably as the battle for equality sits on the hard shoulder calling breakdown recovery).
The company claims the mocked-up images ‘would remove them from a potentially dangerous environment’ – albeit being a ‘futuristic’ concept.

The proposals (hopefully) aren’t entirely serious – but a Sheila’s Wheels spokesperson claims the company ‘is serious about creating a safer road network for female drivers and we believe a discussion about how best to achieve this is long overdue’. Instigate discussion? Check.

Helpfully the company has also done the maths after looking at road safety data – AND claims that implementing pink zones would cost Britain a mere £880million.

Another source.

Sheilas’ Wheels unveils PinkZones – gender split roads A proposal to create safe, new, women-only lanes on Britain’s most dangerous roads
Female focused car insurer Sheilas' Wheels has recognised the need to make UK roads safer for women drivers and have identified PinkZones, a concept that would see separate lanes for female drivers on UK roads, as a potential vision of the future.

The proposal came as the result of a number of reports showing how women are vulnerable on UK roads. Figures from Department for Transport (DfT)1 released in 2012 show men were involved in 114,190 traffic accidents compared to just 70,470 for women, but 53% of women involved in a traffic accident are badly injured, compared to just 38% of men.

DfT statistics2 also show a total of 1,713 road deaths occurred in Britain in 2013. Motorways, where PinkZones could be rolled out at relatively low cost, show deaths for both sexes rose to 100, up from 88 in 2012, marking the first increase in nearly a decade.

The latest government statistics for 2013 show men are four times more likely to be convicted of a motoring offence on British roads than women3.

To counteract these issues, the PinkZones design concept proposes two new types of roads. The first recommends demarcating lanes for women drivers on the existing road network, while the second puts forward the creation of women-only flyovers above some of Britain’s busiest roads. The accompanying images show these in greater detail.


Separate lanes for women on roads would not only increase safety, but also would remove them from a potentially dangerous environment. PinkZones would be designed specifically for female drivers to enhance quality of life.

Speaking on the concept, Andy Sommer, spokesperson for Sheilas’ Wheels said: "As the UK’s leading car insurer for women, Sheilas' Wheels is serious about creating a safer road network for female drivers and we believe a discussion about how best to achieve this is long overdue."

"While PinkZones may be a futuristic concept, there does need to be acceptance in Government circles that women and men drive very differently and solutions identified for how we manage that."

Peter Rodger, Chief Examiner, at Institute of Advanced Motorists said: "While PinkZones may be something of a utopia for female drivers, there’s clearly a need to identify how to provide a safer driving environment on the road. Driver safety is a paramount concern for us and we’re in favour of promoting further discussion about how to tackle the gender differences in driving to make it safer for all road users."

With the Government recently earmarking £70 billion for transport infrastructure spending4, reallocating existing road space to women drivers could be relatively cost efficient. For example, it is estimated that creating women only lanes on the entire motorway network would cost £250,000 per km5, requiring an investment of £880 million, 48 times cheaper than HS2 and around 18 times cheaper than Crossrail.

Researching into the concept, a survey conducted by YouGov6 on behalf of Sheilas' Wheels found 68% of those polled said they would support separate lanes for certain drivers, with only 11% believing that men in the UK were safer on the roads than women.

Insurance company in question.

 

[dhandeh]

April 1st already?

 

[Coxis]

Definitely not what I expected after reading "Pink girl zones".

 

[Xilor]

 

[TenEightyOne]

This is what one PR company thinks Britain’s roads should look like.

Another source.

Insurance company in question.

You got a bit suckered there, dude it's called advertising

A big company (like SW) want to promote themselves and new products/services. They go to a PR company who work up the idea, grow some ponytails, pop round to your office ten-strong with a flipchart, you pay them, they publish the idea, the weirder it is the more social media spread it.

Here's an excellent example of that. Even your link points out it's "not serious", and as another poster here demonstrates (@Coxis) the "pink zones" are much more likely to be taken to mean something else.

This is great clickbait, service enhancing advertising at it's very best. And you're playing their game perfectly

 

[BobK]

What about transgendered people? Separate lanes for them too? If not, why not?

 

[TenEightyOne]

What about transgendered people? Separate lanes for them too? If not, why not?

They straddle the armco. Well, some of them.

 

[Danoff]

I'm offended on behalf of women drivers. Yes they need their own lanes away from the rest of the dangerous and confusing traffic. Silly women, always needing help.

 

[Famine]

I wonder what the penalty is for entering a pink girlzone without a permit?

 

[Danoff]

I wonder what the penalty is for entering a pink girlzone without a permit?

Weirdly, I think alcohol actually helps you get a permit.

 

[Famine]

I notice some pink girlzones are two lanes wide and some only one. You could fit a bus down the bigger ones.

 

[Danoff]

We could also have a brown lane for trash trucks. They'd be right next to the pink girlzones.

 

[Ellis]

As a rule of thumb you need permission to enter a ladies pink zone. I think the same would apply here for this pink girl zone

Also in winter they would be horrible. nobody wants a gritty pink zone

 

[Famine]

I think you'd want a narrow median between them at the least. You wouldn't want to try getting your way into a pink girlzone and getting a noseful of brown.

 

[Danoff]

The brown zone might be a bad idea, everyone would argue about whether they were one-way or two.

 

[Coxis]

Not to mention it would always be a good practice to trim the roadside vegetation so as to have good visibility and feel of the pink girl zone.

EDIT: Danoff.

 

[Danoff]

Not to mention it would always be a good practice to trim the roadside vegetation so as to have good visibility and feel of the pink girl zone.

With that kind of high maintenance, you'd practically have to shut down the lanes for a week out of every month.

 

[kikie]

At least, women don't get lost anymore. They just have to follow the pink zone.

Maybe they get their own traffic rules.

As someone said the other day, a woman (Belgian) was driving on the highway following the instructions of her GPS. It said "turn around" and that is exactly what she did. This may be possible in the future due to the pink girlzones.

 

[Odnomre]

Wow. This topic is full of innuendos and a mod is happily going along with it.

Did hell freeze over?

 

[TenEightyOne]

At least, women don't get lost anymore

???

Hardly seems fair if blokes (those more likely to seem lost, according to your link) are stuck with the original crappy roads.

 

[Famine]

Wow. This topic is full of innuendos and a mod is happily going along with it.

Did hell freeze over?

Good point - imagine what would happen if a pink girlzone iced over!

Actually, I leave pretty near the sea and the wind will often cover the road in sand... you wouldn't want a sandy pink girlzone.

 

[kikie]

Wow. This topic is full of innuendos and a mod is happily going along with it.

Did hell freeze over?

Which are facts.

Mods like to have fun as well.

 

[Odnomre]

Which are facts.

Mods like to have fun as well.

Right.I guess I'm the one with the dirty mind for noticing them

 

[Danoff]

Good point - imagine what would happen if a pink girlzone iced over!

Frigid temperatures don't make for accessible girlzones. A little moisture is fine though.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

I can't help but notice the focus of the article is on speeding through these pink zones. This goes against everything I've been taught.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I can't help but notice the focus of the article is on speeding through these pink zones. This goes against everything I've been taught.

Some guys will never find the zone at all, of course, they'll be forced to pull off and have a cigarette out of the window.

 

[Coxis]

With that kind of high maintenance, you'd practically have to shut down the lanes for a week out of every month.

Well, if you are feeling adventurous enough and have a vehicle up for the task, you could always go into the brown zone for some off-roading. Otherwise, there's always other pink girl zones you could drive around on. I hear they even have toll-pink girl zones which can be easily driven if the appropriate toll is given.

 

[kikie]

Gran Turismo 7 with pink 'girl' zones!

 

[TheCracker]

 

[Odnomre]

Gran Turismo 7 with pink 'girl' zones!

Where every "girl" is a 12 year old boy looking for a girlfriend!

...At least they sound like girls. Pink zone fraud!