Tradition may say the man picks up the woman and takes her out for a date, but the rules are changing.
More women are getting in the drivers seat when it comes to dating. According to a Valentine's Day survey by Leasetrader.com, 18 percent of women now prefer to drive on a first date, up from 12 percent a year earlier.
"You never know how guys really are sometimes or who they are or what their intensions are," Mary Lee said.
Teri Hesson, one of the 2,000 women surveyed, said she prefers to do the driving on a first date, rather than jump in the car with someone she does not know well.
"I just don't think it's a safe thing to have someone picking you up at home," she said. "And you're at their mercy, because you're in their car. And then if you get some place and you want to leave, you can't because you don't have transportation."
Lee agreed, saying taking her own car made it easier to "bail faster."
Ashton Collins also said it was a good idea, "because there's less chance that he's going to turn out to be a creep and take you someplace that you don't want to go. And also, I find that some guys drive a little scary, so I prefer to drive so I don't feel like my life is in danger."
Online matchmaking services also recommend driving separately.
But Hesson, Lee and Collins said they would feel better about riding with guys after they've gotten to know them better.
