More and more women are now going self-employed and driving vans - dispelling even more the White Van Man myth
Blog: RALPH MORTON
It’s not hard to imagine why most trades people running around in their smartly kept vans reject the idea of being labelled with the White Van Man epithet.
Even less if they are women.
So perhaps it’s no surprise to find that 70% reject the stereotype of loud-mouthed, fist-waving, queue-cutting stereotype that’s associated with White Van Man.
That’s according to Tesco Bank research which said 70% of the van drivers the company interviewed as part of the campaign to launch the new Tesco Van Insurance, said they have never shouted at or had altercations with other drivers on the road and far from being careless drivers, nearly three-quarters (74%) said they took pride in their van’s appearance, boasting they have no dents or scratches.
And part of the reason, is the increasing number of female van drivers on the road too.
“With more and more women running their own business, an increasing number of female van drivers are taking to the roads in vans,” said Tesco’s Julie Hopes on launching the new Tesco Van Insurance – see our story Tesco puts vans in its trolley as supermarket giant launches Tesco Van Insurance.
Certainly around Business Car Manager towers, the vans I see are smart and reflect the professionalism of the tradesmen, whether it’s building companies or – as Tesco suggests is the case – the increasing number of female gardeners I see with nicely sign-written vans.
However, that wasn’t the only observation Julie managed to elicit from the business vans news survey. Here are some further interesting nuggets wheedled out in the TescoVan Insurance survey:
- 24% of van drivers are aspiring musicians, 25% are glued to documentaries on the TV, and 22% love going on long walks
- 20% say Greece is their preferred holiday destination, followed closely by the USA (18%)
- 28% have beach holidays, compared with 18% who typically go camping
- 56% are looking for love, and 14% believe that being a White Van Man has helped their ability to woo
- 79% admit they are not bothered by their traditional image, and even revel in their rebellious reputation.
- Eighties hits ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ by Journey and ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe were the joint favourite (12%) guilty pleasures to sing along to while driving
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