Who Causes More Accidents: Men or Women?
The gender debate has been going on for decades. Who’s smarter? Do men or women earn more money? Who’s the better driver?
This depends on what you infer from the statistics. More men than women die each year in car accidents. In fact, for nearly every year from 1975 to 2022, the number of crash deaths among men was more than twice the number of crash deaths involving women.
On average, men drive more miles than women but they are also more likely to engage in risky driving practices, such as driving under the influence, speeding, and not using seat belts. In fact, Men are more likely to use substances when driving, with 80% of drunk driving crashes involving male drivers.
Also, car accidents involving men often are more severe than those involving women. Women are more likely than men to be injured or killed in crashes of similar severity, but the types of vehicles men drive contribute to the decreased risk.
However, men account for 62% of all driving but only cause 58% of all accidents. This means that women do cause more accidents on average per capita. However, they are not considered more dangerous drivers. Men are statistically worse drivers.
Statistics show that 105.7 million women are licensed drivers compared to only 104.3 million men. However, more men drive compared to women, which means that men tend to drive unlicensed. Also, 9% of crashes are caused by women compared to the 14% caused by unlicensed men.
Men receive over 70% of all traffic violations, with many of these speeding tickets. Women are less likely to speed and are killed far less in speeding incidents.
While women may be safer overall while behind the wheel, men are the more confident drivers. They are more likely to pass their driving test the first time around. They have more spatial awareness and are better at driving tasks such as parking and going in reverse. But on the other hand, this overconfidence causes men to take risks while behind the wheel.
So what does all this mean? It can be hard to tell which gender is safer. It’s hard to make generalizations about billions of people. Men can be great drivers, or they can be horrible ones. The same applies to women.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer
Men may get into more car accidents than women, but they also drive more miles and engage in risky driving. However, when in crashes of similar severity, women are more likely than men to die.
No matter what gender you are, if you have been involved in an accident, get help from a Houston car accident attorney from The West Law Office, PLLC. We understand that car crashes can range from minor to severe, and the effects can be long-term. Call 281-347-3247 or fill out the online form to schedule a consultation.
Source:
iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/males-and-females
