Saturday, June 18, 2011

Women Drivers

This story got me thinking: is the stereotype about women drivers correct, in terms of central tendency? Obviously many men are too aggressive, and are far more likely to cause accidents, than women. But, still... women drive differently, right?

Anyway, here is the story:

A young woman mistakenly followed her rental car's GPS directions down a boat ramp in Bellevue, Washington. The driver apparently thought she was on a road when she crashed her SUV into the water at Mercer Slough Nature Park, reports KATU.com. One woman immediately jumped to safety, and the other two stood on door frames before wading ashore.

The three women were in town for a conference and were searching for a hotel just after midnight when they drove down the darkened path. "They were trying to re-route their path and found this boat launch," says a local fireman. "[They] just kept driving into the water." The SUV was completely submerged when a tow truck arrived in the morning. Police don't suspect drugs or alcohol were a factor. "We've seen sitcom parodies of something like this," says the fireman. "To actually see it is surprising."


The truth is that women are not just better and safer drivers, but are substantially better. Maybe they are just not very good at programming the GPS.

Right, Shirley?

(Nod to Anonyman, who can program anything except women)

4 comments:

Mike said...

I'm not going to bother reading the studies, they are clearly wrong. There is some factor that is not being taken into account.

On my morning and evening commute, I can expect a young man to try to go fast, I can even anticipate his behavior.

Young women, however, are the most aggressive and unpredictable drivers out there. If there is any truth in the studies that claim women are safer drivers, it must be because the women cause the accident and the manage to leave the wreckage in their rear view mirror.

Very close to 1MM!

Anonymous said...

Neither study discusses: 1) who gets there faster, 2) who is more likely to be a left lane cruiser, 3) who is more likely to miss a green arrow due to self observation.

Further, many of these stats can be attributed to women's built-in airbags. Notice "From '75 to '03, female deaths in motor vehicle crashes increased 14%, compared with an 11% decline for males. What changed? Men have airbags now too. Built-in airbags might also explain why women receive fewer traffic violations.

gcallah said...

One of the articles you cite explicitly rejects drawing your conclusion: "Even so, it's hard to say women are better drivers, although they are statistically safer."

Famous Women in Business said...

Research say, there are three dominant driver-related factors, including the probability of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, one's own driving skills and the driving skills of the other driver involved.