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Politics | 11/13/2008 10:55 am

Study: Women Are Safer Drivers Than Men

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© Shutterstock

A new study debunks the stereotype that women are the worst drivers.

Quality Planning Corporation, a risk-assessment company that aims to help auto insurers identify rating errors, compared the number of moving and nonmoving violations for both genders. They found an interesting difference in how men and women regard the rules of the road. The company concluded that men violated more traffic laws and caused more accidents than females. They also found that men were more than three times as likely than women to receive a violation in reckless driving. Another interesting statstics: Women drivers were about 27 percent less likely than men to be found at fault when involved in an accident.

"We were not surprised to see that men have slightly more — about plus-five percent — violations that result in accidents than women," said Dr. Raj Bhat, president of Quality Planning in a statement. "And because men are also more likely to violate laws for speeding, passing and yielding, the resulting accidents caused by men lead to more expensive claims than those caused by women." 

Here are the top six traffic violations men make more than women:
Reckless driving                 
DUI                               
Seatbelt violations               
Speeding                          
Failure to yield                  
Stop sign/signal violation        

While this study showed that women were less aggressive and more likely to follow the rules of the road, it might still be wise to let him parallel park. Past studies have shown that men are better judges of spatial relationships, making them better judges of just how close your bumper is to a taillight.
Read more about: Culture, Gender, Lifestyle, News, Society, Study

13 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Ms. Dee
I KNEW it! But I’ll tell y’what. Women can be just as unpredictable behind the wheel as any place else. Seems like every time I avoid an accident, the drive of the car that just about bought my bacon is a woman…or a girl. They do the stangest things out of the blue
By Ms. Dee on 11/13/2008 11:11 am
Sandbee (FB) 54
I wonder if this study took cell phone use into consideration. I do believe it is becoming one of the major problems on the road.
By Sandbee (FB) 54 on 11/13/2008 11:55 am
Irish Eyes NY
Sand: cell phone use is a very big factor, which is why in NY hand-held devices have been outlawed. Of course one can still talk on the phone with a “blue-tooth”, which in my opinion is still dangerous, since one still has to concentrate on the road and a conversation as well. The worst is—-I have seen people text-messaging while driving. That is just crazy
By Irish Eyes NY on 11/13/2008 2:21 pm
Sandbee (FB) 54
Wish they would make such a law in Houston, seems like the freeways are full of talkers, not drivers. There is no way they have that much important business to be talking constantly. Some areas have at least outlawed them in school zones, a start anyhow.
By Sandbee (FB) 54 on 11/13/2008 7:19 pm
Sandbee (FB) 54
Sometimes feels like the old carnival bumper car ride out there.
By Sandbee (FB) 54 on 11/14/2008 9:28 am
Kryssi K
Ummm no shit. We are women; it’s our duty to be safer/better. ;-)
By Kryssi K on 11/13/2008 12:29 pm
HA BIBI
I believe the underlying pretext is that many women are mothers and take the safety of such things as being a safe driver, importantly. They invariably realize they have children who need them. Although women at times can be agressive drivers, that title overwhelmingly goes to men, perhaps they feel like they are “ricky racers” and can let their testostorone run amok as they are far more agressive behind the wheel.
By HA BIBI on 11/13/2008 12:40 pm
HA BIBI
That is scary!
By HA BIBI on 11/14/2008 9:43 am
Flipper .
Tell me something I don´t know yet.
By Flipper . on 11/13/2008 12:58 pm
James the Game
I’m too pressed for time to look up the numbers, but I know that drivers aged 16 to 21 account for a very high percentage of accidents, fatal or otherwise.
By James the Game on 11/13/2008 2:25 pm
Julia Sheppard
As a Driving Instructor,here in England,I see the difference between male and female drivers from the minute that they sit behind the wheel! Girls will instinctively come off the gas on approaching a bend in the road because they will be wondering if there is anything hidden around the corner! That thought doesn’t even occur to the boys, who just keep driving at the same speed! Girls anticipate better, boys “Firefight”,just dealing with a problem if it appears, which,sadly, is all too often, too late. There has been research(from the States) that shows that the male Brain does not develope fully until the age of 25,with the understanding of consequence and anticipation of Danger being the last area to mature.They are experts at coordination and spacial awareness.making it easier for them to pass the driving test, the real challenge, for me, is to train their Minds,and motivate them to Think!and take pride in being a good driver rather than a fast driver.
By Julia Sheppard on 01/01/2009 11:06 pm