Men win Battle of Sexes in Road Traffic Accidents

Published: 12/07/2011

According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) report “Licensed to skill: Contributory factors in road accidents” men are more likely to be involved in an accident on road than women.

The research, based on road accidents between 2005 and 2009, highlighted three principle differences in the driving habits of men and women. They were:

• Careless or reckless driving or driving in a hurry (10 per cent vs. 6 per cent)
• Driving too fast for the conditions (7 per cent vs. 4 per cent)
• Poor driving behaviour or inexperience (14 per cent vs. 10 per cent).¹

In 2009, these three actions accounted for 29 per cent of all road traffic accidents², adding further fuel to the fire surrounding the ban of women-only car insurance.

Following a new European Union (EU) ruling in March, gender-based insurance is now viewed as discriminatory and is to be banned within two years, seeing an end to cheap, women-only deals.

Currently, young women pay an averaged 50 per cent less for their car insurance than men of the same age³. Concluding the report, IAM’s Chief Executive, Simon Best said:

“These results show that we need to look at the psychology of male drivers to reduce risky behaviour and over-confidence, but for both sexes accidents could be easily reduced by improving driver skills and lives could be saved.”

Sources:
¹IAM (June 2011)
²Department of Transport: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain (2009)
³The AA (March 2011)

Content correct at time of publication