Who Are Safer Drivers: Men or Women?

While there might still be a plethora of stereotypes about "women drivers", a recent poll found that women hold a pretty positive view of themselves as safe drivers compared to men. It turns out that they might just be right, considering the statistics on men drivers.

In general, men are more reckless drivers than women and that includes speeding and drinking and driving. In fact, men are 3.4 times more likely to be ticketed for reckless driving and 3.1 times more likely to be cited for drunken driving. As a result, women pay lower insurance rates–overall, about 9% lower than those for men.

Unfortunately, men also pay for their reckless behavior when the statistics get deadly serious. More than 119,000 men drivers died in traffic accidents in the U.S. in 2009 compared to 4,900 women. That translates into 2.5 deaths per 100 miles driven for men and 1.7 deaths for women. But there is one age group where gender doesn’t matter, and that’s for teenagers. This is largely due to distracted driving, since more female teenagers are using their cell phones, iPods, or other electronics in their cars while driving.