A new study has revealed that despite gender stereotypes that portray women as bad at driving, women are actually significantly less likely to get into car accidents than men. According to research from British financial services comparison website Confused.com, nearly 80 percent of motorists taken to court in England for driving offenses last year were men, and two out of three insurance claims are made by men. Accordingly, car insurers have charged men an average of $4,300 more over the past decade. The disparity between the average premiums for women even persisted after the E.U. banned insurers from rating based on a driver’s sex in 2012 — currently, the average yearly premium for women is about $908, compared to $1,027 for men.
In another interesting revelation from the study, men were also more likely to admit to poor driving habits. For instance, 23 percent of male drivers said they switched lanes without signaling first, compared to 17 percent of women.
“As a female racing driver, I know women can hold their own when it comes to driving, and data suggests that they are in fact safer on the roads,” noted Confused.com motoring editor Amanda Stretton. “This is reflected in the fact that they are paying almost £100 less for their premiums.It could also be down to the fact that more men committed more motoring offences in comparison to women.”
