Driving

Feminists are often critical of men, pointing out alleged or real shortcomings or men or masculinity on a regular basis. These sorts of minor criticisms of men (as distinct from more serious allegations) are today known as casual misandry. One common example is the claim that women are better drivers than men. This articles offers a response to this allegation.

Decades of law enforcement and insurance data from around the world is clear on an important point - women, on average, get in to more traffic accidents per unit distance driven. In the United States for example men have 5.1 accidents per million miles driven while women have 5.7 accidents per million miles driven..

Two vehicle accidents involving two female drivers are over-represented in the data while two vehicle accidents involving two male drivers are under represented in the data.

Insurance companies justify higher vehicle insurance premiums for men as they drive so much more than women. Even if their chance of an accident is lower per unit distance driven men drive so much further that their over-all risk is greater. In the United States men are estimated to drive on average 74% more than women.

In 2011 the European Union prohibited gender based discrimination in insurance premium assessments. Following this directive the gap between men's and women's insurance premiums in the EU actually widened as a result of insurers substituting other metrics such as the use of commercial vehicles.

External Links

• Fair discussion concerning gender and driving in Australia. Has a small commercial at the end