Are Women worse drivers than men?
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The answer has differed in the various studies that have been carried out; some say better, others worse. It is of course also a question how you measure "better" or "worse" For a Contract Hire Company like us, women drivers are better in that they are more cautious and therefore have fewer serious accidents and collect less parking and speeding fines than men.
In a study that was carried out at Queen Mary University in London, psychologists said that women and interestingly gay men were very poor, when it came to a sense of direction in an environment that was unfamiliar to them. They said that men had much better navigational skills. This may account for what men refer to as "dithering" by women drivers. Being lost and confused may not be the ideal ingredients for safe driving.
A different view was taken in a Reading University's study. Frank Mc Keenan said that overall women's driving was better than men, apart from, parking and manoeuvring vehicles. Men have always tended to claim that women can't park and whilst it may make them poor drivers in that respect, as Mc Kenna said in the report "few people die parking". It has always been suspected that women drivers have more minor accidents than men and this tends to be supported by insurance claims figures, although the full extent is probably unknown as accidents of a minor nature tend not to be reported; there is little benefit in claiming for an accident where the cost of the repair, is not significantly different from the policy excess.
Many women claim that men are more dangerous on the road because they are more aggressive and have never grown up, something that most men will happily admit to, making them more prone to get involved in races and to react when challenged. Women in general, view driving differently from men; simply as a means to getting to where they are going. Some men appear to feel they are in some form of ancient chariot race when on the road. This inevitably involves some poor decisions made in the heat of the moment; many men find it difficult to back down when challenged by what they see as the aggressive driving of another motorist.
According to Frank Mc Kenna, many young men are killed on the road, when misjudging their speed going into a bend. A number of Psychologists feel that although inexperience is a factor, it often happens because the young motorist has been provoked into racing another motorist, or is trying to prove a point to another road user. Unfortunately an accident can be as a result of the driver simply showing off to his mates, sometimes with terrible consequences. In these accidents that often prove to be serious, the occupants of the car are often all male, suggesting that they do not drive in the same manner when they have female passengers.
Generally the figures are confusing; many insurers appear to favour women drivers claiming that male drivers are responsible for the vast majority of accidents involving death or bodily harm, dangerous driving convictions, drink driving, driving under the influence of drugs and of course speeding convictions.
As is so often the case, these things are not as straightforward as they first appear; women certainly do have fewer serious accidents but according to The Department of Transport, women's journeys generally are less frequent and shorter in nature than those of men. It becomes really interesting when you make a comparison between miles driven and accidents that result in serious injury. In the case of accidents where there is serious injury involved, one third of the cases involve women drivers, however women only drive on average one quarter of the miles driven by men. So per mile driven that would seem to suggest that women are more dangerous on the road than men. As a Contract Hire company we find that our female clients generally have less accidents, take more care of our cars and return them in better condition but that of course, as the Department of Transport figures show, doesn't necessarily make them better drivers.
Many male drivers believe that women do not have the same type of driving skills and ability as men. After all they would say there are no women Formula One drivers and from a man's point of view they do seem to spend a lot of time "dithering" on the road. This is perhaps confirmed by the Department of Transport's figures that show that women are more likely to have someone drive into the back of their vehicle. Whilst there are no figures on this; it is possible that those who drive in the back of women's vehicles are men who have become frustrated by their driving. Apparently women are also more likely to have an accident during the day and significantly more likely to be involved in an accident between the hours of 8 and 10am.
Insurance companies will probably continue to prefer their women drivers and Men will continue feel a little uncomfortable when being driven by a woman. Some say they find the journey even more tiring than if they were driving themselves; at a junction they concern themselves just as much, if not more, about approaching vehicles as if they were driving, without the ability to take action if the driver makes a mistake. This concern is not completely without foundation, as government figures show that women are more likely than men to have an accident at a junction. This could be the same lack of confidence that can be witnessed by men's sharp intake of breath when it is announced on a flight that the pilot is a women, perhaps because in the air, there is no equivalent of driving into the gatepost.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Licence checking, Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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