When I was younger, whenever my parents got in the car, they'd always argue about who should be in the driver's seat.
It's been a battle of the sexes for as long as I could remember.
Who's a better driver? My mom versus my dad, or more generally, a man versus a woman?
While driving skills vary based on the competence of every individual driver, one study has claimed there is in fact one gender that is superior at the task, and the answer may just surprise you.
The Results
Although women are often seen in the passenger side of cars in commercials and television shows, it turns out they're actually the better driver.
Norwegian scientists conducted a study that examined how a person's age, gender, and personality contributes to driver distraction.
It's reported that distracted driving is the cause of 1/8 of road accidents.
Researchers took a look at two different sample groups.
The first one was of 1,100 high school students in Norway, 208 of which were licensed to drive, while the other was composed of 414 people from the country's general population.
Results showed that although overall rates of distraction were low, a driver's attention was primarily diverted by playing with the radio, with its predictors based on age and gender.
It was uncovered that older women viewed themselves at being more successful at strictly paying attention to the road ahead of them.
In contrast, young men, and extroverted or neurotic people were worse at controlling their distractions.
"A recent report concluded that distracted driving plays a part of at least 12 per cent of car accidents in many different contexts and countries, with most estimates suggesting larger numbers," researcher Ole Johansson at the Institute of Transport Economics said.
Johansson added that smartphones also play a significant part in distracting drivers, which has been concurred by several other studies as well.
Driving analytics company Zendrive found that 88% of people use their cellphones while on the open road, averaging about 3.5 minutes being spent on them per hour.
"As the task of driving a vehicle is mostly taxing on the systems of visual attention, any factor that draws the gaze away from the road for a significant period of time could be classified as a distractor," Johansson explained.
"Specifically, after two seconds of distraction, the risk of getting involved in an accident increases drastically."
Second Opinions
Researchers from the price comparison site Confused.com said that while it takes women slightly longer to be comfortable in the car, but typically have a better driving record, less likely to be involved in a car accident, and have lower insurance rates (about $118 less), in contrast to their male counterparts.
In 2017, more than 585,000 motorists in England and Wales were taken to court for driving offenses, with 79% of those individuals being male.
Nearly one quarter of men had speeding offenses, while only 7% of women had omitted the same infraction.
Furthermore, men also outnumbered women five to one when it came to driving under the influence.
Privilege Insurance also conducted a study that revealed that while women lack the confident to admit it, they are more proficient drivers.
In 2015, both males and females had taken a series of road tests, which proved men and women were consistent with their gender stereotypes.
Men were more likely to take risks, tailgate, cut corners, go through yellow lights, and be on smartphones.
On the flip side women are more inclined to be considerate of their fellow motorists, cautious when nearing potential hazards, use their mirrors correctly and stop when the light turns yellow.
"After years of debate and banter comes the news that will have men running for cover. It is now official: women are actually better drivers than men," the study concluded.
[H/T: Independent, Daily Mail]
