Women are Not Safe Drivers is a Myth

It’s a long-held stereotype that women are lousy drivers. Anyone who sees a woman driving a car is going to look at her with disapproval. The comments said towards female drivers are appalling in this day and age of equality. The ability to wield the steering wheel, not one’s gender, determines one’s driving abilities. In reality, research has revealed that in most countries around the world, women are better drivers than men.

Why are Women the Safer Drivers?

There are certain things that men do better than women and vice versa. There are some practices that women tend to follow which makes them the safer drivers on the road. These are:

1. Women drivers generally do not tend to over speed. Most women drive at a speed that is manageable and at the same time steady as well. As per a research conducted, women drivers exceed speed limits 12% less than the male drivers. Also, women drivers tend to practice hard braking 11% less than men.
2. The incorrect way of overtaking is a major cause of the accident. Research has shown that women drivers are less involved in accidents that are caused due to incorrect overtaking than their male counterparts.
3. Not that it is a stereotype but women are more cautious than men usually which helps them abide by traffic rules.
4. Women tend to always wear helmets and seatbelts while driving.
5. Researches around the world have also shown that women tend to have a longer attention span than men. The reason for many accidents can be attributed to the lack of attention given by the driver to the road. The driver could either be daydreaming, talking on the phone etc. which research has shown is more commonly found in men.

Statistics in favour of women drivers

Women are safer drivers than men and the statistics back it up.

1. Research has revealed that women tend to break fewer traffic laws than men. Few examples of offences in which the majority share is made by men include driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, failure to yield and stop sign/signal violations and reckless driving.
2. Also as per statistics collected in India by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, fewer women than men are responsible for road accidents and the fatalities caused by them.
3. In the UK in 2017, men accounted for 72 per cent of the total penalty points related to traffic offences despite the fact that the number of drivers on the road is almost equal. As per the same research, men accounted for 84 per cent of the drunk driving offences and 78% of the speeding offences.
4. Only in three areas are women penalised more than men. These are aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring; driving while disqualified and flouting pedestrian crossing rules.

The statistics prove that women are usually better drivers than men and any myths or stereotypes that surround this have now been busted