Men have long said that women are the worse drivers. Women have vigorously defended their abilities behind the wheel. But new research does back the claim that women are worse drivers than men – but men shouldn’t gloat just yet.
Motor insurance company, Diamond, recently did some research into accident statistics and found that nearly half a million accidents a year were caused by women applying their make up while behind the wheel. Other causes were more to do with busy lives – 10% of accidents involving woman drivers occurred while on the school run compared to just over 1% for men for instance.
Women driver stress
Solicitors admit they have seen a 50% rise in the last year in cases where women have approached them because they are facing charges of driving without due care and attention. A classic example of this was a woman in her 40’s who had driven into the back of another car on a busy road and was facing a charge. She was distraught having never been in trouble before, but she was having marital problems and wasn’t concentrating properly at the wheel.
Driver stress caused by busy lifestyles appears to be a leading cause of accidents among middle-aged women. If you combine a driving experience with children in the car that are causing disruption with a stressed mum, this can lead to higher stress and more minor accidents.
Demands of life
A study from the University of Michigan also concluded that women were more likely to be involved in an accident. They looked at 6.5 million car crashes and found a higher than anticipated number of cases, involving two women drivers in a collision. They also found that women have more problems with crossroads, T-junctions and slip roads.
The RAC admit not to have studied the situation themselves, but a spokesperson said that they did find the figures unsurprising. Women are under higher pressure, often juggling tasks and responsibilities. This scenario is backed up by the fact that it is middle-aged women who are responsible for the highest number of cases.
Solicitors representing these women tell a similar story – work, running the home, looking after the children and mental health can all build up and affect concentration. Most of these women are running into trouble for the first time.
Problem-solving not working
Anxiety specialist, Dr Sandi Mann from the Mind Training Clinic in Manchester, pointed out that many women are juggling different aspects of their lives and the mind wanders to problem-solving. It is okay when you are out walking but can be potentially lethal when you are driving a car.
Alcohol is another factor that can lead to problems. Research from Insurance, Revolution, discovered that driving convictions handed to women see more than one third being for drink driving offences committed by the 45 to 60 age group.
Men are likely to be younger, with one-third of these convictions awarded to the 25 to 34 age group. For men of the middle age group, the most common offence is speeding. They are more experienced motorists and think they can drive at higher speed, thus breaking the law.
For women, 64% of convictions are for more serious motoring offences including causing death by dangerous driving and driving under the influence. Experts say this is because some women use drink to help them cope – female professionals have a high rate of alcohol problems but are often well hidden behind a controlled exterior.
Dealing with the problem
Dealing with all aspects of life is a big problem for women drivers. And, getting the children to behave in the car can be a significant factor too as many women say driving and dealing with their children leads to accidents. According to the Supernanny website, the key for parents is to create a routine that settles the children and rewards their good behaviour. It makes for quiet and relaxed car journeys.
While men may feel somewhat vindicated in the figures, showing that women are involved in more accidents than they are, maybe the bigger question is what we can do to help these women? Whether it is helping to manage the stresses of life or merely taking the school run a little more often, maybe men can help women lower their accident rates, and everyone stays safe.
Are women drivers worse than male drivers? Is this there are more distractions when women drive then men do? Is it really a fair comparison of driving ability? Let us know in the comments below.
This piece is amazingly badly written – rambling, repetitive, and barely coherent. Whoever wrote it should be kept away from the English language.
So I’m guessing that the accuracy of the content is very low. This sort of thing makes your website look very sad !!
Steve H
They cite various surveys and publications – you could go and check those.
What puzzles me is that male/female stats don’t seem to take into account miles driven. If a man drives 20k/yr and has one accident – its one accident. If his wife drives 3k/yr and has one accident… its the same, but the accident _rate_ is very different.
We use MILES in our GB not ks.
K refers to thousands not kilometres
.
Oh dear Keith. You do know the standard abbreviation for ‘thousand’ is ‘k’. But clearly touched a nerve about miles and kilometres.
How sad.
Yep this is another point, I drive about 25k miles a year my missus drives about 8k miles per year. (Although she does drive like a bloke and gets annoyed at other women not paying attention)
Agreed. Skewed stats too. Likely that fewer men participate in school run, so % of accidents on school run caused by men will be lower. The rest of the article focuses almost entirely on women (eg. For women, 64% of motoring convictions are serious) without providing the baseline for men. This makes most of the comparisons baseless, leaving me to conclude that this is either nonsense or a poorly executed journalistic attempt to stir up debate. Either way, this doesn’t belong on what is otherwise a great site
But still pint out that the entire argument regarding men vs women is and has been so wrong for many years, women are in general awful drivers having far more accidents than men. Basing it on miles travelled also about who actually causes the accident (ie women not paying attention causeing other traffic to avoid said driver). The amount of women that cant even park their car is beyond a joke, they have no spatial awareness.
I wouldn’t say that out loud if I were you. Afraid any mens lib won’t be coning anytime soon. Best kiss our feet and learn to be forever wrong. Ig you dont like it maybe you might find a voice outside the internet. – i wouldnt do that as your peers will shoot you down as the not yet written law states by placing woman in a category subpar to men you will be castrated. Take care high pitched sir. I am sure you can drive better than one of my daughters
Wow, considering that I’ve had one accident in the nearly 20 years I’ve been driving and it wasn’t my fault- ins. Company determined the other MALE driver was in the wrong; that i learned to drive a manual in the city of San Francisco, which meant parallel parking was mando.; and that I can park ANYTHING from a miata to a bronco xl on a dime, would beg to challenge your VAG. hating assertion. AND DONT even get me started on the self hate the poor author of this piece of literary trash has displayed. In ffact, the opposite of her assertions are true. Man take the cake and the worst diver of the year award.
Taxi drivers bus drivers, truck drivers and in general. I guess you are now one of the observant men. Maybe you should join us? I am kidding, you mad a fair point. School runs may have accidents at 5mph but wouldnt get reported.not to mention i have had two at fault accidents yet the insurance company doesn’t put me down as at fault. We get a better deal but you have to look after us.
I’m pleased someone takes notice.please apply to driving.TAKE NOTICE.
The accuracy of the content is right, its obviously hitting a raw nerve. If the best you can do is criticize his grammar then ignorance is bliss. I’ve been a professional driver for 13 years and the standard of driving he describes is absolutely spot on.
*criticise – we are not in the USA lol 😉
Also the author of said article is Lisa Edwards, so technically no one was actually correcting “his” grammar.
I’m a 69 year old lady and have a clean driving licence since 1969. Not had or been involved in a car accident.
I bet you’ll soon have one after posting that. Hubris.
Now now, Petula is obviously a good careful driver.
All this is down to the circumstances around each driver, when I was a Commercial Driver I had one Blameworthy and was hit about a dozen times by other Vehicles, since flying a desk I havent hit or been hit, perhaps that’s because I now do the bulk of my driving during the rush Hours, on the Conveyor, and I don’t need to juggle half a dozen things at once.
I’m a 67 year old man. Been driving since I was 17 years old and also have a clean licence. I’ve driven cars and lorries for literally thousands of miles in different countries.
The chances of having an accident are influenced by the number of miles one drives. isn’t that right?
I agree. I to have been driving as long as you. I wonder if this was taken into consideration. I worked as a car park attendant and I saw bad driving from both male and female drivers. Some was very funny.
How often have I said that men are better drivers than women and been shouted down by the same women. Now a survey has proved me right. Women drivers do not have the ability to judge gap widths and sit waiting when a juggernaut let alone a car can get through, also waiting at junctions until the road is clear for at least a mile either way before proceeding. This causes so much frustration to capable drivers. It has been pointed out to me that men are responsible for most accidents however when you consider that most women are insured to drive through their Husband/Partners insurance the mans name appears as having claimed following an accident when in actual fact the woman was at the wheel at the time. I wish the Police would start to charge drivers of both sexes for failing to make due progress. And while I am on my soapbox when are we going to follow pars of Europe and ban HGV’s from using the outside lane on duel carriageways.
Please don’t tar all women with the same brush. I am 80 and have driven for 50 odd years. I have have not had an accident. My spatial awareness is still good. Two days ago I was behind 3 male drivers at a junction. Not one of them signalled which way they were turning.
probably mini cabs they don’t know where the switch is
And how often do you see men driving aggressively,using hand gestures but not their indicators and generally being entitled. Don’t preach. Survey statistics can say anything you want if you ask the right questions.
There are good and bad drivers of both sexes I now notice bad ignorant driving everywhere No driver wants to wait for even a second give way impossible for some they do not want to lose any time it will be only seconds , many do not bother to park but abandon their vehicles anywhere there is space not caring about anybody but themselves
My sentiments entirely…….
And mine. I’m retired now but I used to a Tecomms Engineer driving 1,000 miles a week covering five counties in the North West. Never had a accident in the 15 years on the road. I’m now now 77 never had an accident except one incident when someone hit me when I stopped at traffic lights. A lot of accidents are caused by elderly people like me. I’m all for resitting your driving test every five years from 65 years of age.
I’ve always found that if I’m not sure about the width of a gap, I just close my eyes and go for it. Works every time.
Yeah, same here! 🙂
Breathing in sharply helps too.
How stupid !!
Anyone who drives with their eyes closed at anytime is committing an offence of either driving without due care and attention / careless driving. (Road Traffic Act 1991 Section 2
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/40/section/2
I nearly got run over on a pedestrian crossing by a woman driver. She was too busy talking to her female passenger than concentrating on the road ahead. An accident waiting to happen, fortunately I saw her coming.
I WAS run over on a crossing by a MAN.
If you were the target, that settles the debate then.
The word good should not be used to describe driving; less bad maybe. The design of modern cars also encourages bad driving. eg everybody and his brother does not set the handbrake when stopped but holds the car illegally on the footbrake and this is only one incidence. Bring back the fella with the red flag.
right, but on automatics there is nothing wrong with holding the car by the brake pedal. You cannot roll back. Going up and down the gearbox and engaging the handbrake on every stop would be impractical on an auto.
I’m reading this with a measure of cynicism – agendas pushed: contemporary understanding of feminism (as in pushing the feeling of discrimination and victimisation) because ‘it’s a hard knock life for women today’ and, since the article relies on studies conducted by INSURANCE companies, perhaps also ‘let’s charge women more for car insurance’. Or ‘let’s charge everyone more for car insurance, just to be on the safe side’.
As we all know there are lies, damned lies; then you have statistics. You can make numbers do anything (trust me I am an accountant -:) ) and I note the sample level for this survey is quite low.
The excuse that women have to put up with “the kids in the back”, is a bit sexist, since as many men do the school run as women these days, so that makes that figure suspect, but if taken to be true as a ratio of men who do the “school run” as the same as women, and women get more stressed out with children, then men would appear to be the better driver. Any way a good driver should have enough concentration power to deal with these things. If you can’t then make the children walk to school, or catch a school bus.
Rather like the elderly (those over 70) who still drive, they statistically have fewer accidents, but CAUSE more. Indecisiveness at roundabouts and junctions are usually the main issue when they start to commit to the manoeuvre, and then suddenly change their mind resulting the driver hitting them. The argument that the other driver should not be so close behind them does not wash, as usually it is right to assume that the driver in front has left the junction and in the traffic flow. However, that driver has “dithered”, stopped dead so next thing is there is an impact.
Then we have the “I have never speeded, never exceed 45-50mph and never had an accident”. However what the figures do not show how many accidents were CAUSED by these elderly drivers who do not drive to the speed of the road, particularly single carriageways with few overtaking opportunities. Mr /Mrs “I have never had an accident”, drive at 40mph on a road more than safe to drive at 50 even 60.
Those drivers behind who want to drive to the speed to the road (and it is indeed safe to do so) get frustrated that they cannot move at the speed they need and overtake when they shouldn’t.
Next thing, head-on crash and a driver gets killed. Meanwhile Mr /Ms “I’ve never had an accident” then crow “well that is what happens when you speed”. Actually they CAUSED the accident.
Then you have the other statistic which relates to the amount of time that both sexes have on the road. On the whole more men are on the road for a longer amount of time (particularly when you factor in HGV, long distance) and tend to be male drivers.
I have met many female drivers who I have no issue with, but equally others are a curse; the same goes for elderly drivers. However given the speed and complexity of the road systems to-day with roundabouts and junctions, along with slip roads every 500 yards older folk get confused, and take longer to assess the situation.
Again they cause frustration for those who can and will travel at the correct speed, and the old person causes the crash. This brings us to the neurosis about speeding, and some of the absurd speed limits which are now in places.
A good example is the reduction of certain urban street limits down to 20 MPH. If the local Government hadn’t allowed housing estates and shopping areas that are so closely built together, with a lane just about the width of a car, along with “pinch” points and ramps in the name of “speed reduction control” cause even more frustration and people taking chances than needed. If the streets were wider and the houses not so closely built together then there would be less dense traffic.
It is women who tend to dither with these sorts of obstacles than men, so actually the former the bigger danger, however it is the person who hits them in the rear who gets the blame when actually it was the driver in front that caused the issue.
Even my sister who is an “Advanced Driver” gets cross with women who can’t or won’t drive their car or work to the speed of the road. Indeed she agrees the most dangerous are “young mums” who can’t control their children and therefor the car as they are not concentrating who cause the accident, (for the records she was a teacher for 30 years and saw what these mums got up to) and even she got cross with them.
So you can make figures do anything, but I would say that women cause more accidents, but not actually involved or blamed, which distorts the figures in the past about how great they were/ are.
As for those (both male and female) over the age of 70, I think we have to draw a line and say that the cut off for driving a car is at worst 75, ideally 70 when you have to surrender your licence permanently.
Most of the elderly do not have the reaction not assessment time abilities that are needed for modern driving conditions and therefore for every ones safety barred from driving. For the record I am not “ageist” but have witnessed accidents caused by old folk, and that includes my (now late father , and not as a result of the incident) who got “disorientated on a mini roundabout and ended up driving the wrong way down a dual -carriageway with a speed average of 60MPH. That included HGVs as well. Not only did he nearly kill himself but several dozen other people had he not been stopped by the Police.
He was told to surrender his driving license at the scene, and “got away” with a caution and no criminal charges issued. However he was barred from driving for the rest of his life. The incident happened when he was 77, he died at 82 following a stroke, but I am sure that death would have been much earlier had been allowed to continue to drive
yes they are i’ve been driving for 43 years bikes and cars and the amount of women i see on the phone is not real putting makeup on playing about with there hair on the phone smoking putting the ends out the window etc
The only problems with statistics are due to how they are used, not the stats themselves. People who say “You can make numbers do anything” are themselves propagating the “lies” by saying it. and it worries me to hear an accountant, of all people, making that claim. Also we are rarely told the circumstances and the factors taken into account when making statistically derived statements in articles such as these. Most statistical analysis is fair, and I strongly believe that, although not specifically stated, the mileage of the drivers sampled would have been taken into account. Too many people do not fully understand the concepts of statistics, yet seem determined to exact “results” from what little they do know. Newspapers often provide dramatic articles, often totally erroneous, based upon an unintentional, or perhaps intentional, partial grasp of the data. ,
I must take exception with your suggestion ‘the cut off for driving a car is at worst 75, ideally 70 when you have to surrender your licence permanently’. I am over 70 and my wife is disabled and cannot drive (she voluntarily surrendered her licence when she started having T.I.A.’s). Public Transport rarely goes directly to where she needs to go and it is very difficult to carry a week’s shopping on a bus (delivery can be expensive or inconvenience, at times). Other, larger, household items – Lampshades, Lamps, Pillows and even Bedsides Cabinets/Tables – are even more awkward.
I agree that most women seem to take ages to enter roundabouts/mainstream, even when traffic is light, but my ultimate nightmare is to be just in front of 4 women in a car, as they MUST look at whoever they are talking to!
As a seperate point, when my wife was driving, I actually believe that she was a better driver than I was
I think it’s worse than the survey suggests. Many cars driven by women have dents all over therefore suggesting that they haven’t pursued a claim. Women generally are more cautious than men, possibly because they are less confident drivers and don’t know their cars too well added to the fact they possibly drive fewer miles but that leaves many motorists trailing behind these drivers, getting more and more irritated.
Female drivers of 4 x 4’s and larger vans like Range Rovers etc are more likely to not really know the width of the vehicle. I know from experience being a driver and a road cyclist!
On the minus side for male drivers, the worst offenders are those driving German cars, notably Audi, BMW, VW and Mercedes. Arrogant bunch.
Let’s not forget either that 50% of drivers don’t bother signalling what direction they are going in either. Driving standards are heading towards 3rd world standards.
Another poorly produced Petrol Prices article. Absolute junk. Or as Donald would say fake news. Really who controls the content on this site? Maybe we’ll get an article on why women drivers are worse drivers on Wednesday than any other day of the week and that for men it’s Tuesdays. Rubbish
This only confirms earlier statistics. Many years ago the Sunday Times ran an article showing that men were more likely to crash than women, and had more serious accidents, especially young men. OTOH if you looked at accidents per 100,000 miles driven (the usual measure of travel safety), then for the main age group (30 – 45) women were more than twice as likely to have an accident than men for the same distance driven.
Do women drive the same number of miles? Do they do the number of journeys? Do they do more miles during peak hours?
School run time are undoubtedly one of the worst times to be on the road. However, it is plainly evident to me that many women (and males too) could relieve themselves of that pressure if they were prepared to walk! What’s more walking is amazingly therapeutic, mentally as well as physically.
It is accepted that the closures of many small ‘village’ type schools has exacerbated the situation (government creative accountancy – send kids to schools miles from their homes, in cars, to make the education budgets look efficient). That is especially so for those not living within easy walking distance of their kids’ schools. However, I observe parents driving to collect kids when they live not 15 minutes walk from the school entrance. Indeed, it must take many drivers as long to find a parking slot as would be their walk to the school. Also (and dare I say this?) it seems that the issue is especially prevalent amongst Asian mums who will not only not walk, they are possessed of the largest car they can acquire, viz, the ubiquitous ‘Chelsea Tractor’. I am now 80 and regularly walk (uphill all the way) past the local schools to reach our village shops, post office, dog-walk, etc. and for one to observe the antics of school run drivers’ circus is, to be frank, hilarious. Some will now even arrive up to 30 minutes before school kicking out time, just to make sure they can grab a parking slot, so ‘time shortage’ as such cannot be their issue.
However, I am sure as has been suggested, it is the juggling of essential tasks and available time (especially as many mums now have to work to pay for that car they need to collect the kids!) which has to be the biggest distraction and greatest pressure for female drivers. As is said, most blokes set of to their work early morning, to return late afternoon/early evening, having experienced none of that, nor having had to cope with it. Of course, that is not to say that males are never distracted during their drives to and from work by other concerns, both of domestic and work connected issues.
In Newcastle (upon-tyne) there is no rush-hour outside of term time,or at most a minimal one. I thoroughly agree kids should walk to school afterall isnt this the reason they have catchment areas? and it would work wonders for the childhood obesity epidemic.
This is a societal problem not nearly so much down to laziness as people seem to imagine. Up until a couple of decades or so ago, children were automatically offered a place in their nearest school. Then some bright spark had the great idea of letting everyone pick which school they would like to send their kids to. The result is that everyone has to fight tooth and nail to get their kids into the decent schools, which then get more funding, while the remaining poorer schools get less funding as a result. The decent schools become fewer and further apart, which is exacerbated by the policy that seems to be applied, at least in my area, of closing as many schools as possible and building on every square inch of the remaining larger schools to cram as many kids as possible into those.
It’s called ‘survival of the fittest’; poor schools SHOULD receive NO funding and close. Good schools deserve better funding. Schools should also not be using convenience for Mum’s 4×4 school run as a criteria for placement.
I once was waiting in a queue of cars about a block away from a school one morning while trying to get to a client, saw a woman a few houses up load her child in a 4×4 range rover, force her way into the queue, and then proceeded to the school, stop and let her child out for that school, the child seemed sufficiently mobile to have walked the half block. She then did a three point turn and drove back to her house and again forcing thru the wueu, parked back in her drive and returned to whatever she was doing…
I note that a lot of women have jumped into the forum to claim they have drive X number of miles or X number of years and not had an accident. Ever thought to ask how many they have caused?
NONE!
K
That is insulting and puerile. I follow the same rules as when I learned to drive. This is not a subject for jokes, it is a serious matter but a lot of you are using this forum to score points.
What gets my back up the most is bad driving by. ‘ Both Sexes ‘.
A lot of drivers do not use indicators whem pulling away, approaching and using round about signalling correctly, making left/right. hand turns and positioning of vehicles toi make correct manouvers so as not to impede other riad users.not been courteous to othet drivers.
Flicking cigarette ends and rubbish out of windows when driving.
We all know ‘ Cunk Click every Trip ‘ for our own safety.
We should allownThink, Think and and keep Thinking always’ for everyones safety and be responsable drivers, think about other drivers. We are not the only one using the road when we get behind that wheel. THINK, THINK AND KEEP THINKING ALWAYS.
Make our roads safe to drive on.for everyone by being responsable drivers..We all need them every day
The problem with kids in the car are the kids. Teach them how to behave properly in the car and that should help.
As a woman who has been driving for 26 years and never hit ANYTHING..i find this study insulting..there are 2 men in my road who cannot park their cars properly whereas the wives are great at it..so wheres the logic??
yes they are i’ve been driving for 43 years bikes and cars and the amount of women i see on the phone is not real putting makeup on playing about with there hair on the phone smoking putting the ends out the window etc
Men are more impatient, women are more distracted, in a nutshell. Impatient drivers tend to be more focussed upon what’s happening around them, at least. I’d rather not be in any collision, but it would be more annoying if I were hit by a driver who was not paying attention. The school run conundrum – such a 2st century problem. What ever happened to children being allowed to get to school under their own steam?
What parents should bear in mind is children are statistically safer walking to school than they are when being driven.
To be fair to school kids, a lot more of them now have to travel miles to their school thanks to the bright idea of letting everyone fight over which school they’re allowed to send their kids to.
I do the school run for my kids (male driver incidentally) and thoroughly agree that women get too distracted. It’s not just the kids in the back of the car either, too often the problem comes after they’ve been dropped off and Mum is concentrating on whatever is planned next, such as work, and not on getting there.
The problem with male drivers in general is primarily that they think they’re better drivers than they actually are. I was like that but as a company car driver took advanced driver training which I thought was only going to prove how good I was. I learned a big lesson. This overconfidence in ability, plus impatience is what leads to too many accidents.
This article makes me so angry and it does NOTHING to bolster the confidence of female drivers, is it not true that a lot of driving is confidence?
Perhaps also the fact that women are putting make up on in the car is because they are made to feel they need to put it on in the first place? They are doing it in the car because they haven’t had enough time to do it at home. Men can just roll out of bed and jump in the car, while women are expected to take 2x as long to ‘prepare’ themselves for the outside world – if they don’t bother they are judged by men and other women for not looking respectable
Also the fact that most accidents that happen on the school run are caused my women is that not a signifier that more women are doing the school run? Why are there not more men driving their kids to school?
The fact that more women are having accidents because of distraction and stress is that not a sign that women are being put under greater pressure to deal with everyday life? Come on chaps, pull your emotional weight!
you are not allowed to put makeup on when you are driving end off not had much to put it on then get out off bed earlier to do it
No one has mentioned BMW drivers who are the worst of all
Thats a broad and very incorrect statement. I , for instance, have driven BMW’s ever since I was 26, I am now 70, and have never had an accident. BMW drivers are no worse than any other Marque’s driver.
Oh , I am afraid they are , they appear to believe ,incorrectly , that because they are driving ” The Ultimate Driving Machine ” , they are the ultimate drivers. WRONG.
BMW drivers arrogant at least the young are
Never owned BMW but I agree with you. A lot of people have this anti BMW (and sometimes anti any expensive car) bias. In case anyone suspects me…_I drive a sandero because it’s cheap but would love a big car if only to show that the tarring of everyone with the same brush is nonsense.
Sorry Steve… AUDI drivers are by far the worst… A rumor has been circulating that when you buy an AUDI you automatically get a frontal lobotomy, and are brainwashed into believing you can drive how you like and the car will always save you…
don’t forget the range rover drivers with ultra bright headlamps
This is the most sexist load of claptrap I’ve ever read. Is this robust research from the University of Michigan? Can Diamond provide more specific statistics relating to accident rates as a whole? And as a women only insurer, surely their stats are going to be skewed?! Total rubbish.
I thought it was established years ago that that women have more accidents while men have bigger accidents.
Insurance companies used to price this in before the law changed to make them charge the same to men and women. Insurance for men was always dearer than for women.
Odd then that until quite recently (some sexist ruling) women used to able to avail themselves of cheaper insurance premiums as they were seen as lower risk.
Why does there always have to be an excuse for bad driving, especially when analysing female drivers. The article mentions middle aged men speeding and sights men thinking they are better drivers for this, but in all the cases of women braking the law / having accidents there’s an excuse and men should help out. If the articles statistics are to be believed then surely it’s a case of people being responsible for their own actions, if they mentally or physically can’t cope with driving for any reason they should not be driving. Don’t try to attribute blame for bad driving on trivial excuses for either sex, it is the drivers responsibility to others that they are capable of driving.
woman are genetically disadvantaged when driving, due to their lack of depth perception. Men developed better depth perception, due to hunting animals. This is not true of all women, since genetically speaking the most masculine female is more manly than the most feminine male, depending on your genetic make up. `But statistically most women are at a disadvantage. It doesnt mean that woman have to be bad drivers. There are so many aids these days e.g parking sensors, radar cruise control.
I think the worst case of dangerous driving I have ever seen in over 50 years was on the A12, a few years ago. This was before the road was improved and potholes were everywhere. I was travelling behind a woman who was overtaking an articulated lorry. Speed was 70-80 mph. She decided that her hair needed attention and removed the hair clip she was wearing which she placed in her mouth. With her other two hands, she gathered her hair behind her and then replaced the hair grip in her hair! Had she hit a pothole, she would probably have gone under the lorry! I naturally increased the distance between the woman and myself!
what i find unusual is there is no mention of accidents caused by women wearing high heel shoes which is actually illegal in some countries. There is no way you can react quickly wearing high heels which in some instances have no flex in the soles.
I’ve had several incidents with women drivers…..
I picked up a new fiesta and stopped at lights in manchester…. crunch…. volvo estate in the back…. woman and daughter nattering and didn’t see the lights (on the up of a T junction)….. phoned 2 weeks after it was replaced….by husband who just saw the damage and wanted to pay for “minor” damage caused by wife… too late
Bought new V class and parked outside home…. next morning run into by car that didn’t change road position….. a woman driving instructor on the phone to pupil because she was late…. didn’t put phone down for next 2 hours…. 2 write-offs
unusual to have big impacts… most womens accidents are relatively low speed and often parking or in car parks….. most are “paid for” to avoid insurance activity…. THAT is why statistics have traditionally said women are better drivers… They’re NOT… their accidents are usually slower and less damage… men generally drive further and therefore faster and damage is more severe.. thus needing insurance money.
There are of course exceptions…. I myself am absolutely perfect in every way
please tell my psychiatrist to stop laughing
My wife is a driving instructor, before that she was a coach and service bus driver and before that she was a traffic officer in the met. She refuses to class herself as a woman driver because she says 98% of them are crap.
Funny enough my missus says the same thing that women drivers are c**p, they cause far more accidents then men, doesn’t nessicerily mean that they are in the accident but the cause them. They also dither behind the wheel or just plainly ignore what’s going on around them.
For what it is worth:
# “new research does back the claim that women are worse drivers than men – but men shouldn’t gloat just yet . . . Motor insurance company, Diamond, recently did some research into accident statistics and found that nearly half a million accidents a year were caused by women applying their make up while behind the wheel. Other causes were more to do with busy lives – 10% of accidents involving woman drivers occurred while on the school run compared to just over 1% for men for instance”. – Lisa Edwards, Petrol Prices, 14/03/18
# “It’s a fact, girls are safer drivers than boys . . . Insurance experts have proven that female drivers aged between 17 and 24 make 14% less claims compared to males. But that’s hardly surprising . . . Based on claims data from Diamond policies sold from March 15 to February 17” – http://www.diamond.co.uk/car-insurance-for-women, 15/03/18
# “A study from the University of Michigan also concluded that women were more likely to be involved in an accident”. – Lisa Edwards, Petrol Prices, 14/03/18
I couldn’t find quoted statistics, but the University of Michigan – http://www.umtri.umich.edu/ – is clearly an authoritative source.
Yes, it’s a well known fact. Women are over cautious and are unable to anticipate.
“women are unable to anticipate” wtf? Do you even hear yourself
I wouldn’t say worse drivers, I’d say many women are not as confident behind the wheel as men. However, overconfidence in male drivers also produces problems, as has been said. There are good and bad drivers of both sexes, and a myriad of reasons as to why that is. By the way, could writers stop using ‘And’ at the beginning of a sentence. It is an appalling use of grammar and is totally unnecessary – a comma will do if including a subordinate clause.
If you’re going to complain about grammar, you could try not writing “a myriad of”. It is just “myriad”. And it is perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with “and”.
You should definitely go back to school if you actually believe starting a sentence with “and” is perfectly acceptable! It is appalling grammar and a mistake, in my experience as a Secretary, mainly used by men!!
How about the same test for men? There might be a few surprises.
Strange, according to the DVLA website the registration number AVO 1D doesn’t exist. Maybe she wrote the car off, or it’s a porky
I have seen shocking driving from both genders. Whilst men seem to have a slight upper hand in special awareness they negate this by riskier manoeuvres and a more aggressive driving manner. That said I have come across my share of aggressive women drivers too who seem too occupied with matters other than actually driving. At the end of the day there is a great deal of scope for improving the driving standards of both sexes. Many people are guilty of not concentrating on their driving, showing a lack of regard for other road users and generally being able to control their vehicles correctly. I honestly wish advanced driving tests were made compulsory along with some form of psychometric testing as the mental demands placed on individuals on our busy roads is considerate, some simply are not up to the task and rely overmuch on technology rather than improving their driving skills. Sorry but get it wrong and your multiple airbags, stability control, ABS and so on will NOT necessarily save you.
Women always boasting about multi tasking meaning doing more than one thing at a time unfortunately doing more than one thing at a time while driving is not a good thing, bump. You need to concentrate.
The most dangerous time to be on the road is on short journeys that are time restricted like school runs ,can’t be late for the little dears can we, my kids walked as I did, also its the time when most women driving large suv’s are on the road thinking of the kids, dinner or shopping and not concentrating on the important thing, driving.
I have been driving now for 50 years as a H G V driver and and seen a lot of bad driving habits over the years no plite drivers these days……pulling out of junction no singles speeding tailgateing,no heart in to days driving like years ago when drivers were polite,and they so ingrent they pull in to disable bays,when they in they tin cars they act bravely,out side they tin cars they coward and that wat I have expected overrated the years.
I seem to spend my time avoiding accidents which are caused by predominantly young to middle aged men. Those that turn right at the roundabout from the left lane across me, try to push in front of me when it isn’t possible, run red lights etc.
And from my experience, virtually all drink driving, speeding, no insurance, etc going through the magistrates’ courts are men. It is interesting that the research points to women.
It’s always going to be very controversial. Men are more aggressive generally and women more reactive and tend to overreact rather than being calm.
If people drove steadier and kept more space around their cars, indicated and avoid sudden, unpredictable movements and putting pressure on situations where they should use common sense and ease up there would be hardly any accidents.
It’s not women drivers who are at fault it’s anyone multitasking with children in the car and that , unfortunately, still falls to women the majority of the time.
I am a female. I have been a petrolhead all my life. I had a motorbike at 16 years old, then passed my driving test first time when I was 17, and have been using the roads now for nearly 40 years. I find some of the comments on here from males condescending and insulting! There are bad drivers out there of both genders – I see it every day – and I’m sick of the ‘women drivers’ comments. I recommend everyone has the opportunity to ride a motorbike when they’re learning to drive. It gives you a real perspective on what is going on around you, and invaluable experience in concentration and spacial awareness.
My mother in law crashed into the front tow hitch of our caravan with so much force it knocked it off it’s legs and twisted the chassis, she got out of the car went into the house and didn’t have a clue that she had even hit anything.
Basically wrote our caravan off.
According to my kids , my wife drives like a boy racer when I’m not in the car, but drives like a Sunday driver when I’m in it
Sorry, but i find this another ‘men and women’ debate..what next?..men cannot use a washing machine or hoover as well as a woman?..pointless…all of us are as good as the next person..we all have ‘things’ we are either good at or not good at…simple!!
I often drive a camper, which demands attention, but many other drivers will pass me anyway they can including “undertaking” and roundabouts are frightening. I do pull over when I can and let others pass since they are probably working and I’m not.
However the main problem, as I see it, is pressure on time with van drivers having to do more and more, whilst others have to get to meetings etc. the seconds that we can save really would make no difference – only in the mind. It also causes road rage and that could lead to all sorts of problems.
I used to drive fast with no time to waste but one of the campers I had would only achieve 55mph and boy what a difference – no traffic to catch up or pass etc having to leave adequate time to get anywhere.
I’m not holier than thou but it is more pleasant driving as the highway code would suggest rather than wishing the person in front would “disappear” as you tailgate him/her.
In my 54 years of driving, I have noticed that in general, women cause more accidents than they are actually involved in. Woman makes a stupid move, man has to swerve to avoid woman, either other vehicle hits man’s vehicle or man’s vehicle hits stationary object. Woman drives off on her merry way, man is held responsible for the collision. Ergo, insurance companies say men are worse drivers and make more claims than women..
This piece is amazingly badly written – rambling, repetitive, and barely coherent. Whoever wrote it should be kept away from the English language.
So I’m guessing that the accuracy of the content is very low. This sort of thing makes your website look very sad !!
Steve H
They cite various surveys and publications – you could go and check those.
What puzzles me is that male/female stats don’t seem to take into account miles driven. If a man drives 20k/yr and has one accident – its one accident. If his wife drives 3k/yr and has one accident… its the same, but the accident _rate_ is very different.
We use MILES in our GB not ks.
K refers to thousands not kilometres
.
Oh dear Keith. You do know the standard abbreviation for ‘thousand’ is ‘k’. But clearly touched a nerve about miles and kilometres.
How sad.
Agreed. Skewed stats too. Likely that fewer men participate in school run, so % of accidents on school run caused by men will be lower. The rest of the article focuses almost entirely on women (eg. For women, 64% of motoring convictions are serious) without providing the baseline for men. This makes most of the comparisons baseless, leaving me to conclude that this is either nonsense or a poorly executed journalistic attempt to stir up debate. Either way, this doesn’t belong on what is otherwise a great site
I’m pleased someone takes notice.please apply to driving.TAKE NOTICE.
The accuracy of the content is right, its obviously hitting a raw nerve. If the best you can do is criticize his grammar then ignorance is bliss. I’ve been a professional driver for 13 years and the standard of driving he describes is absolutely spot on.
*criticise – we are not in the USA lol 😉