There has long been a debate, ever since the birth of the automobile – which sex is better at driving – men or women? It’s ok to sit on the fence and say that both can be excellent drivers, as everyone has their own individual strengths and weaknesses. However, some people firmly believe that one is better than the other and far safer on the roads, so what do the statistics say?
In the future, there will be more women on the roads than men, with a 23% growth in female numbers compared to 9% for men over the last decade or so. But when it comes to parking, it does seem to be the men who have the biological advantage as their brains have a better grasp of spatial awareness than its female counterparts. During the driving test, twice as many mistakes were made during reverse parking by women than men – 3,367 mistakes for the girls vs 1,652 for the boys.
However, when it comes to passing the driving test first time, the comparison is a bit closer with 48% of men and 44% of women getting their desired pass on the first attempt. Surveys of the past have also revealed that it takes women roughly 2 months longer to feel test ready than it does for the men but could that be a confidence issue as opposed to skill levels? For Wellingborough Driving Lessons, visit http://promotion-driving.co.uk/driving-lessons-in-wellingborough/.
According to the figures, you’re more likely to find a man losing his concentration by messing about with stereos or mobile phones, speeding or verbally abusing other drivers. Women are 12% less likely to speed than male drivers, with this information coming from black box recorders in the vehicles of 19,000 drivers. They were also 11% less likely to brake hard meaning that they had a smoother and perhaps more safety conscious approach but as these figures are so close, maybe it’s too close to call after all.
Maybe we should say, for arguments sake, that men are good at some things and women are good at other things. There will be plenty of excellent and appalling drivers of both sexes. It has been said that while men have a better understanding of the mechanics of driving well, they are more likely to push the vehicle and increase their risk of being involved in an incident. Women, on the other hands, seem to have a better appreciation of risk then their male counterparts. Let’s just say we should all aim to drive safely, whatever our gender.
Men, on average, drive more and have an annual average mileage of 7004. Whilst women average 6440 miles. Men spend a higher percentage of their driving time breaking the speed limit and as they are in the car longer, also face driving in riskier conditions such as bad weather. This could go some way into explaining why they are involved in more accidents. Studies have also shown that drivers who are carrying children as passengers drive more safely than those who don’t.
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