Worse Drivers, Men or Women? The Survey Says …

Who are the worse drivers, men or women?

We’re not looking to inflame the so-called battle of the sexes.

In researching this topic we found numerous studies claiming to provide facts and insight on America’s driving habits.  After a while the studies piled up to the point that this age-old question can’t be avoided any longer.

Who causes more accidents, men or women?

Who is more distracted while driving, women or men?

Study Shows Women Drive Less, Have More Car Accidents

Looking at 6 ½ million car accidents in the U.S. University of Michigan researchers found women involved in 68 percent of the crashes.  That surprised the researchers who claim that during the time period of the study, men drove more, 60 percent of the time, and women drove only 40 percent of the time.

What that means is that even though during the time of that study, 1998 and 2007, male drivers were on the road much more, yet women racked up a higher accident rate.  So the bottom line on this University level study published on Syracuse.com claimed that women are worse drivers and get in more car crashes despite driving less than men.

Insurance Numbers Show Men Cause More Car Accidents

But a national insurance group reports that men rack up a higher number of drunk driving arrests, traffic violations and cause more accidents.  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety findings include the following:

• Men cause 6.1 million accidents each year while women cause only 4.4 million.
• 71% of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2016 were males.
• In the 24 years before 2016 the proportion of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with blood alcohol concentrations at or above the legal limit of .08 registered substantially higher for males than females.

This insurance group based its findings on National Highway Safety Administration data which also showed speeding as a contributing factor for a greater proportion of male drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes than for females killed in car accidents.

Women, Stress and Car Accidents

Then there’s a car insurance company in the U.K. that came up with its own research.  The company, Diamond, reported that nearly a half a million U.K. accidents each year are caused by women applying their makeup while behind the wheel.  We don’t make this up, this report is cited in the notes at the bottom of this article.

In an article titled “Women really ARE worse drivers than men, claims new research”, it’s said that 10% of accidents involving women occurred while taking the kids back and forth to school.  Only one percent of such accidents involve men.

U.K. lawyers claim that in the one year before the study, which was published March 14, 2018, they saw a 50 per cent increase in the number of women going to see them because they were facing charges of negligent driving.  Driver stress caused by busy lifestyles is said to be the main cause of an increased number of accidents among middle aged women.

Men More Likely to Violate Law on the Highways

A U.S. insurance company got the opposite result.  A study done for MetLife found that men are over three times more likely to receive tickets for reckless driving than women.  The same study actually carried out by the research firm Quality Planning reported men are cited for drunk driving three times more often than women.

“Women are on average less aggressive and more law-abiding drivers”

MetLife/Quality Planning study.

Only 39% of men in that study thought men were safer drivers.  The bottom line in this report, bad driving habits bring higher insurance rates.  Insurance companies set rates based on classes of drivers and who makes more claims.  Car insurance rates for women are lower than those for men nearly everywhere across the U.S.

Who are the Worst Drivers – Bottom Line

Anyone who follows the news knows that so-called surveys and studies come up every day.  Statistics seemingly support all kinds of conclusions.  Over time the barrage of statistics leaves contradictory bottom lines, as we found above.  But who digs up the statistics?

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”

Attributed to Mark Twain and others

In researching and writing this blog we found “studies” and “statistics” supporting both answers to the question.  Take your pick.   We’re happy to post your thoughts and reactions. Simply send us your feelings in the “Leave a Reply” field below.

If you’ve been in an accident that was not your fault contact our office.  We’ve been returning positive results to our clients for over 25 years in accident cases in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  It doesn’t matter who caused your accident or why they were negligent, whether they were texting, driving drunk or just plain not paying attention.  Our office will do everything in our power to optimize your case.

Model Credits:

Drew Carson

Zoe Collazo

Sources:

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, General Statistics, 2017. Link .

Men vs. Women: Who Are Safer Drivers? Oct. 11, 2011, CBSNEWS.com

Study Says Women Are Worse Drivers, Get in More Car Crashes Despite Driving Less Than Men, Geoff Herbert, July 7, 2011, Syracuse.com.

Women Really ARE worse drivers than men, Lisa Edwards, March 14, 2018, petrolprices.com.  Link .

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