Poll: Women Think They’re Better Drivers Than Men
John Egan
Here’s some new information that’s bound to spark discussion at home, at work or in your car: Women believe they’re safer drivers, and most men don’t necessarily disagree.
According to results of a MetLife Auto & Home American Safety Pulse Poll released Sept. 30, only 39 percent of men think they’re safer drivers than women, but 35 percent of men are unsure which gender is safer behind the wheel. Women, on the other hand, take a much more definitive stance – 51 percent think they’re safer drivers than men and 24 percent are undecided.
“Despite the long-standing, good-natured debate between men and women about who is the better driver, one thing that’s not debatable is the responsibility drivers have when operating their vehicles,” Bill Moore, president of MetLife Auto & Home, says in a news release. “Safety knows no gender — whether a man or a woman is behind the wheel, an attentive driver remains the most effective deterrent to auto accidents.”
On this subject, women do have some evidence in their corner.
For instance, a 2008 study by a company called Quality Planning found men are cited for reckless driving 3.41 times more often than women. And a study issued in 2010 by the New York City Department of Transportation found that 80 percent of Big Apple crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve male drivers.
Worth noting is that men rack up about 60 percent of the miles driven each year in the United States, and women account for the remainder.
