Who are Better Drivers: Men or Women?

From time immemorial, gender differences have been the reason for humor and strife, mutual insults and anecdotes. In the context of driving a car, a woman behind the wheel has already overgrown with all kinds of “cliches” and myths, claiming that the weaker sex is completely unable to cope with such a complex and dangerous technical device.

Is autolady so bad and who actually drives better – women or men?

Physiology features

Medicine is happy to join this never-ending discussion. It turns out that men and women have different vision structures, which fundamentally affects the driving style. Women have more developed peripheral vision, which allows them to perceive the road situation more diverse and better.

Researchers joke that a woman owes this skill due to the need to housekeeping, while watching the series on TV, dinner on the stove and playing children.

But men can boast of their tunnel vision, which allows them to see obstacles in the way earlier. That is why they achieve great success in motor sport.

Besides, opposite sexes have different hearing. So, women are better oriented due to the ability to catch several sounds at the same time. Men are able to perceive only a single sound signal, and the brain chooses which noise is more important, which sometimes turns out to be wrong.

Police statistics

An interesting study based on police data has been conducted in Europe and the USA.

After reviewing reports on various types of offenses committed on many types of vehicles, they came to the conclusion that motorists are many times more likely than auto-ladies to go against traffic rules and are generally more dangerous in driving.

Accordingly, since men do not follow the rules, it causes most road accidents. Finally, only men “suffer” a regular violation of the speed limit.

Here is a list of violations that were analyzed by American road patrols in the male:female ratio.

• Careless driving: 3.4 men to 1 woman;
• An aggressive driving style: 3.08 men to 1 woman;
• No fastened seat belt – 3.07 men to 1 woman;
• Speeding – 1.65 men to 1 woman;
• Failure to comply with the Stop sign – 1.53 men to 1 woman.

For Americans, careless driving is classified as one of the most serious violations, as it implies neglect of their own safety and other road users.

Arguments of insurance companies

Insurers also keep their statistics, analyzing accidents not only by categories and severity, but also by “gender”.

It turns out that the worst thing women cope with are parking, reversing maneuvers, as well as the rules of crossing equivalent intersections. Men are leading in speeding, and, no matter how amazing it may look, they regularly crash into the stands.

Based on this behavior on the roads, British insurance companies have even begun to lower the insurance rate for women drivers. Women are generally more careful, not inclined to search for adrenaline and high speeds, and therefore they are much less likely to fall and create dangerous situations.

Specialists studied 200,000 insurance cases, evaluating them by such parameters as the driver’s age and gender, absence or presence of victims and injuries of varying severity, and the amount of damage.

The results surprised even the analysts themselves: for motorists of a young age category (up to 25 years), the difference in compensation for damage to the insurer is 15%, and this is far from being male.

And the American Automobile Association said that the average male driver has a 77% more chance of dying as a result of an accident than a female one.

World statistics conclusions

If we summarize the studies, observations and statistics of different countries and organizations, we can draw the following conclusions:

• Women much more carefully observe the rules of the road;
• Women, due to psychological characteristics and the instinct of self-preservation, behave more carefully and attentively on the road;
• Women practically do not drive while intoxicated;
• Men are quicker to navigate in unusual traffic situations and calculate the most rational way to resolve it. This is partly due to less emotionality, stress resistance and composure characteristic of men;
• Up to 40% of all accidents are caused by male drivers aged 25-30 who have little driving experience but more self-confidence. Thus, their driving style can be described as impudent and relaxed, leading to inattention and increased accident rate. After 36 years, men become more careful, reducing sad statistics, but the coefficient again creeps up after 65 years;
• Men are 2 times more likely to not observe traffic signals and pass on a red light.

Driving school statistics

The fair sex is now actively competing with men in all areas, so the numerical superiority of male motorists will soon come to naught.

Statistics of domestic driving schools reports that in recent years the number of students has increased by an order of magnitude. The same applies to automobile instructors, and the percentage of female instructors is also increasing.

During the educational process, women are more likely to repeat their knowledge at home, as well as study additional literature. Therefore, when passing exams, ladies almost always pass the theoretical part easily, while men are more interested in practice.

During the practical part, women do not feel self-confident and are much more nervous than men. However, experienced instructors cannot clearly say whether female emotionality affects driving quality. It interferes equally, leading to rash actions, and makes it generally more careful.

British driving schools, on the contrary, note that men more often pass the exam for a driver’s license on the first try. Although women are not far behind them, they need twice as much time to prepare for surrender. But being on the drogue as a full participant in the movement, women are more careful – 68% of British women have never violated traffic rules.

Who drives a car better: a woman or a man?

According to statistics, over the past two decades, female mortality in road accidents increased by 14%, while among male drivers over the same period of time, a decrease of 11% was noted.

Insurance company experts explain this sad trend of rising death rates in accidents as a general increase in the number of women driving a car.

Psychologists note that the ever-accelerating pace of life, work stresses make women motorists more aggressive on the road with respect to other road users and pedestrians. Despite the fact that men are naturally inclined to excitement, auto-ladies show signs of risky behavior. Thus, we can talk about a gradual reduction in the gap between men and women in terms of driving quality, behavior and analysis of the road situation.

So is it possible to unequivocally state that this or that gender demonstrates the best ability to drive a car?

Some experts agree with the theory that men are more aggressiv and more desperate, and at the same time inclined to break the rules of the road. However, this fact does not confirm that women are the best drivers, although statistics show that they are more prone to order on the road. They closely monitor the road, follow the rules and are better oriented.

But a truly extreme traffic situation most often knocks a woman out of balance and causes panic, which, in turn, leads to fatal mistakes and casualties.