Women have been dealing with sexist criticism of their driving for as long as they’ve been getting behind the wheel, but new research shows that women are actually better drivers than men. A new study from the U.K. finds women are safer on the road, something we knew all along.
The British price comparison site Confused.com reviewed 539-thousand driving offenses that happened in England and Wales last year and found that 79% of them were made by men. Men also outnumbered women four to one in terms of reckless driving and the research shows they speed more as well – 24% of their driving offenses are speeding related, compared to 7% for women.
Men are also five times more likely to be convicted of a DUI, about 5% of their driving crimes are from driving under the influence, compared to just 1% of women’s. The research did find one place men ranked better than women behind the wheel: the driving test. Of the 55% of folks who failed their driving test the first time, 31% were women, while 24% were men. But according to these stats, once we have our licences, women really do make better drivers.