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Female Drivers

Female drivers are in a fortunate position; they don’t crash as much as their male counterparts.

Insurance statistics show that a young woman is only around five times more likely to have a crash in her car than an older, more mature woman. And guess what, the comparable male statistic shows young men are ten times as likely to be involved in an accident than the older male.

This has meant that some premiums for young female drivers can nearly be half of that of male drivers.

But what are men doing that makes them a greater risk? Insurance company research has shown that men are somewhat more inclined to take risks than women (and that’s putting it politely). One mitigating factor is that they tend to drive more miles than women, but this can’t excuse their bad habits, such as faster driving (higher incidence of speeding fines); driving while under the influence of alcohol (unforgivable, whichever sex is doing it); disregarding traffic laws; and, dangerous driving.

Right, so that’s a fact then, but it doesn’t really explain the reasons behind young men’s desire to stretch the rules. Perhaps it’s back to cave man again, when the male was in charge of hunting the nasty animals and the females stayed at home to make the cave look nice. Now, sexist jokes apart, there must be something going on, even if higher testosterone levels are too easy an excuse.

But, anecdotal evidence from most pedestrians and cyclists supports the fact that yes, indeed, put a young man behind the steering wheel, and he becomes a little intoxicated with the power. And he demonstrates this fact to fellow males by driving them off the road, and shows-off to females that he is the biggest cockerel in the hen house by taking a tight right-hander at 80 mph.

Although there is a growing trend which shows that the females are making a good job of trying to catch up. Remember how it just used to be boys who would stagger out of the pubs at night and fall over; now it’s a well-known fact that the girls play as well. This is now happening in the driving arena as well, with the unfortunate result that young female premiums are beginning to rise. Oh dear.

Female drivers; make hay while the sun shines, and don’t be surprised if you reach parity with the boys on something that you might have preferred not to.

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