# Who are better drivers? Men or women?



## pbandjam (Sep 24, 2011)

So a few days back while on the highway my dad made the point that women are worse drivers than men. Honestly I've never noticed it specifically. What are your observations/experiences on which gender generally is better at driving? :

Let the battle of the sexes begin!! :duel


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## gusstaf (Jan 1, 2012)

I think there are terrible drivers among both men and women. From my experiences, the difference is not the quality of the driving, but the cause of the bad driving. I've observed more women talking/texting on the phone while driving, which is, in my opinion, every bit as bad as driving drunk. But I think that aggressive driving is a huge problem with a lot of men.


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## Ashley1990 (Aug 27, 2011)

well if i say abt Driving rules women take care of them very well but if we exclude this i will vote for men.My bro drives so well,i always get shocked when he turns,how smooth he drives..really well


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## simpleindian (Oct 25, 2011)

ofcourse men


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## northstar1991 (Oct 4, 2011)

I think it depends more on the person than the gender of the person. If I were to generalize, I would say women because men tend to be more aggressive drivers.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

> Insurance.com's own data supports this, too. Based upon information provided by consumers in the first half of 2008, Insurance.com reports that 68% of women have no traffic violations versus 64% of men.
> 
> Of those reporting violations, 30% of women have 1-3 traffic violations versus 33% of men, and 2% of women have 4+ traffic violations versus 3% of men.
> 
> ...


...


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## rumjungle (Feb 13, 2009)

If we went by insurance statistics in my country...women (especially in the 18-25 age group) pay lower premiums compared to men. Those sexist insurance companies!

But I see bad driving from both genders, so far I think it's been about equal in the gender of the oxygen thieves that tailgates me.


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## FireIsTheCleanser (Aug 16, 2011)

In general men, but individually some women are better drivers, my mom has driven for almost as long as my dad and she's never gotten a ticket, where he has gotten about 6 at least


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## Silent Hell (Sep 17, 2010)

Statistically men get into more auto accidents then women, probably due to their risky behavior. 

But that only defines "good" driver as a safe driver, I wonder if you made people drive through some kind of obstacle course where spatial ability was more of a factor whether men or women would perform better. 

It's pretty easy to be a safe driver, but I doubt most safe drivers lack the maneuverability skills to be in something like a successful car chase.


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## minimized (Nov 17, 2007)

I think they all suck...

And **** the insurance companies.


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## Whitney (Oct 2, 2008)

Silent Hell said:


> But that only defines "good" driver as a safe driver, I wonder if you made people drive through some kind of obstacle course where spatial ability was more of a factor whether men or women would perform better.


Ah, spatial abilities. I'm actually doing my master's thesis on spatial abilities, men vs. women, pilots vs. non-pilots.

Overall men have much better spatial abilities, but I haven't really done any research on how this really translates into driving. Maybe I should look that up... (*continues procrastinating working on thesis*)

Also- my boyfriend always complains about "women drivers" and it pisses me off. I'd love to prove him wrong.


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

I think men are extremes at both - the best male drivers(formula 1 etc.) are better,but the worst male drivers are worse than women


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## Jinxx (May 10, 2011)

I don't think it matters. My step dad drives like a maniac but my mom drives good. Then when I look at these polls, Men are overpowering Women. Driving gender statistics are silly to me. I just don't think whatever you're born with determines your ability to drive.


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## MGPElectricGuitar (Jan 7, 2012)

Men. Im a sick driver  You see more male drivers go into motorsport than women, even though I know its a male's sport. Men just love cars more than women I guess lol - So they'll take extra care not to crash, maybe?


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## Puppet Master (Jan 1, 2012)

No difference I've seen more god awful drivers of both genders than I can count.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

****Thread Advisory****
This can turn into a gender war - yeah, you know it. :lol

I am a MILLENNIUMMAN and I have been in several accidents. Those of you who think women are bad drivers.....think again. Bad accidents happen to good people.


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## Squirrelevant (Jul 27, 2008)

In my experience, people who call themselves great drivers tend to be terrible drivers.


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## Rossy (Jan 15, 2011)

I know some awful male and female drivers and vice versa for good drivers,I just happen to be a superb one lol


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority#Driving_ability



> Driving ability
> Svenson (1981) surveyed 161 students in Sweden and the United States, asking them to compare their driving safety and skill to the other people in the experiment. For driving skill, 93% of the US sample and 69% of the Swedish sample put themselves in the top 50% (above the median). For safety, 88% of the US group and 77% of the Swedish sample put themselves in the top 50%.[25]
> 
> McCormick, Walkey and Green (1986) found similar results in their study, asking 178 participants to evaluate their position on eight different dimensions relating to driving skill (examples include the "dangerous-safe" dimension and the "considerate-inconsiderate" dimension). Only a small minority rated themselves as below average (the midpoint of the dimension scale) at any point, and when all eight dimensions were considered together it was found that almost 80% of participants had evaluated themselves as being above the average driver.[26]


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## BlazingLazer (Jul 16, 2011)

komorikun said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority#Driving_ability
> 
> 
> 
> ...


"People love to admit they have bad handwriting or that they can't do math. And they will readily admit to being awkward: I'm such a klutz! *But they will never admit to having a poor sense of humor or being a bad driver." *- Rabbi Carlin


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

I've seen too few good drivers to be able to distinguish by gender. Most people seem either incapable or uninterested in driving in a smooth and controlled manner. And yet they have the nerve to criticize you when you're driving. I don't know how these people manage to pass their driving test and get their license. Honestly, the only consistently good driver I can think of is my dad.


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## Rainbat (Jan 5, 2012)

Apparently insurance data suggests that men are involved in more accidents or traffic violations, but from personal experience some of the most careless drivers I've seen have been female. I don't think the data is completely accurate, for multiple reasons. For one, men may have more traffic violations purely because they're more likely to be pulled over and charged than women are (male cops, which outnumber female cops, have been known to show leniency towards women). Also, were the men who were in those accidents the cause of it? If it's not going by fault, and merely going by the actual amount of accidents, then that might be another flaw, because I assume there are more male drivers than female drivers, or at least more on the road at a given time. I would think men have on average longer commute times and are less likely to carpool than female drivers, but again, that's only an assumption. If it is true that there are more men on the road than women, of course insurance data would claim that men are involved in more accidents, regardless of driving ability.

Whenever I'm being tailgated, I'll look back, and the vast majority of the time it's a woman. It's not because I'm driving slowly, either, it's just because they feel like hanging out 3 feet behind me. Apparently they don't realize that 60MPH is 88 feet per second, and that there is no way they could stop in time if I had to slam on the breaks for whatever reason.

Also, I feel like women are far more likely to drive while distracted. Food, make-up, and chatting with friends via calls or texts all seem much more likely with women than with men. No guy I know would have an issue with waiting 10-20minutes to reply to a text.

Of course, this is all based off experience, and nothing completely solid. Being male, I have bias towards thinking men drive better, and from viewing the posts in this thread I assume that's the case for a lot of others too.


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## kosherpiggy (Apr 7, 2010)

i think most people just suck at driving regardless of gender


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## Sourdog (Sep 13, 2011)

Idk i think maybe men, but wtf do i know?


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## O Fantasma (Jan 11, 2012)

Men or women...who don't live in FL.


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## kosherpiggy (Apr 7, 2010)

^
lol they're probably not as crazy as jersey people


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Men would probably be better at driving because the whole spatial ability thing but because so many of them (especially the young ones) have trouble regulating their emotions, women are probably better.


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## Noely G (Feb 19, 2012)

Women CAUSE accidents. End of story.


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## Resonance (Feb 11, 2010)

insurance companies seem to believe women are better drivers.


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## AllToAll (Jul 6, 2011)

They're both equally horrible, how 'bout that?


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## Hadron92 (Apr 17, 2009)

hermaphrodites


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## successful (Mar 21, 2009)

All the accident i've been in been was men sooo....
not really sure, Women drives more sensible, that's for sure. Men drive like they're Coked up.


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## ohgodits2014 (Mar 18, 2011)

I don't know who the better drivers are, but I do know when a female driver accidentally backed into my parked car she took the time to leave a note on my windshield saying she was sorry and to call her number. When a male driver accidentally backed into my car when I was in it, on the other hand, he simply looked out the window and casually signaled "Eh, no biggie" as if it was for him to decide.

So going by that alone, I'll say female drivers are more upfront/responsible about their bad driving than male drivers.


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## motherof3 (Feb 23, 2012)

I don't think that gender has anything to do with it. I've Noticed however from my life as a military brat, and now spouse, that Europeans drive way better than Americans, for the most part. I'm not really sure why that is, but it's an interesting observation. Perhaps it has something to do with the passing lane being treated like one, unlike the U.S. where we have grannies in the fast lane going 45mph in a 60mph zone, lol.


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

Both can be terrible drivers, is the answer.


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## hrnmhmm (Feb 23, 2012)

In all my near-accidents where I've bothered to check for the driver, it's been older women at the helm; often with very surprised and apologetic expressions, like they weren't paying attention. I don't drive, and am fairly careful on the roadways as a pedestrian or a cyclist... so I don't get in many accidents.

Not voting, of course. ;s


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## Uranium (Jun 14, 2011)

Men. I was driving to school and watched this girl just ram into the back of someone's car. I LOLed for the rest of the day.


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## Nathan Talli (Dec 13, 2010)

From what I've seen, men tend to be more aggressive, (speeding, raging) so that causes some accidents. I've seen women display more dangerous behavior, (drifting into other lanes, change lanes without signalling, putting on makeup while driving, not checking blind spots- that is the WORST).



Rainbat said:


> Whenever I'm being tailgated, I'll look back, and the vast majority of the time it's a woman. It's not because I'm driving slowly, either, it's just because they feel like hanging out 3 feet behind me. Apparently they don't realize that 60MPH is 88 feet per second, and that there is no way they could stop in time if I had to slam on the breaks for whatever reason.


Women are the worst tailgaters though. If you are going slow and a guy comes up behind you. He will get pissed off and within 10 seconds he will roar past you. But women won't do that, they will just tailgate you for miles and miles. They are supposed to leave 8 car lengths in front of them and the next car, but most of the time they leave 1.

I cannot tell you how many times I would have been hit by a woman coming into my lane without checking her blind spot, where I've had to honk and swerve to avoid her. I even saw a woman knock a guy on a motorcycle off the road because she came over without looking. I also see more women texting while driving than men which has also caused some near misses with me.

Sorry I'd rather deal with the idiot speed demon men than the oblivious women, at least the men are predictable with their raging behavior.


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## Bon (Dec 24, 2005)

I hate driving, hate it, I'm the worst reverse driver. I don't think sex can determine whose a better driver, I think "we" do or don't have skills.


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## Nekomata (Feb 3, 2012)

I voted no difference. I've only had male people drive me around mostly, and I don't look out the window to see who's driving what car so we could watch out for them, so I don't really see who's better, they're the same basically *shrugs* It's true that women can get more distracted and that men can be more reckless, so....


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Men clearly. There is barely any professional women drivers compared to that of men. Also I've never seen a good woman driver in my life, in all my family, friends, and relatives, they are just horrible.


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## northstar1991 (Oct 4, 2011)

Dr House said:


> Men clearly. There is barely any professional women drivers compared to that of men. Also I've never seen a good woman driver in my life, in all my family, friends, and relatives, they are just horrible.


Just because there's more male professional drivers than female professional drivers doesn't mean that men are better drivers, it means less women go into that profession. You're basing your conclusions off of women in your family?


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## Nogy (Feb 13, 2011)

Honestly, i'm not sure. My mother is a horrible, horrible driver but my sister is really good at it. The worst driver i know though is my male friend, so i picked no difference. 

Elderly people are the absolute worst drivers, of this i am sure


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

:lurk

I'll just leave this here:

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-bad-women-drivers-20120413,0,3665494.story

opcorn


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## JustThisGuy (Mar 24, 2012)

gustafsg said:


> I think there are terrible drivers among both men and women. From my experiences, the difference is not the quality of the driving, but the cause of the bad driving. I've observed more women talking/texting on the phone while driving, which is, in my opinion, every bit as bad as driving drunk. But I think that aggressive driving is a huge problem with a lot of men.


 Pretty much going to say this.


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## Mirror (Mar 16, 2012)

Considering all different circumstances, I'd say they're even. I think women can be careless, but men can have too much testosterone. .I think my driving is pretty good except for occasional minor mistakes. I've only gotten one speeding ticket and knocked off one of the side view mirrors on a mailbox.


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## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

There have been studies that show men have better depth perception than women. Men have more accidents yes, but as a whole (in the U.S.) we log alot more miles so our chances of having an accident go up.


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## xTKsaucex (Jun 23, 2010)

lolololol


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## Marlon (Jun 27, 2011)

My mom has been driving in the US for 25 years and has a perfect driving record. She's also asian. LOL

Anyways, I think women are worse drivers. I agree men are more aggressive, but I've seen countless women doing their makeup... texting... talking on the phone... it's more accident prone than simply being aggressive.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

men are inferior to women. everyone knows that.


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Men are more skillful drivers but take more risks. Women are more careful but less attentive (talking/texting on phone, putting on makeup, etc.)


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