Study finds women are safer drivers than men
November 23, 2020
Not that we didn’t already know this, but researchers have concluded that women are in fact safer drivers than men.
The research team used a United Kingdom government database of 14,425 road fatalities from 2005 to 2015 that involved more than one vehicle.
“The overarching thing behind this study is that we’re looking at risks you pose to others by using a vehicle,” said the lead author, Rachel Aldred, a reader at the University of Westminster in London. “That’s an aspect of this that we don’t often look at.”
They found that per mile travelled, male drivers of cars and vans had twice as many fatal crashes. This occurred across almost all types of vehicles. Male truck drivers were four times more likely to be in accidents than woman truckers, men driving motorcycles were in 12 times more accidents than women riders.
The researchers suggested that more examination needs to be done on how other third-party aspects like infrastructure or route characteristics played a role in these events to determine the conclusion with a bit more accuracy. However, they did explain that their findings could help policy-makers address areas where more risk was posed.
“Results suggest policy-makers should also seek to reduce disproportionate risks posed by the more dangerous vehicles, for instance, by discouraging motorcycling. Finally, given higher risk posed to others by men across five of six modes analysed, policy-makers should consider how to reduce persistent large gender imbalances in jobs involving driving,” they said.
Picture: Pixabay
