When it comes to driving, men are far better than women. But if we talk about risk, auto insurance companies tend to be on the women’s side – the actuarial table’s verdict.
There were numerous studies conducted to support the validity of these claims. Just recently, a study from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and reports from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates that women drivers are indeed less risky on the road.
What the data is showing us
Back in 2007, American Automobile Association decided to sponsor a controlled study to determine how often men or women are involved in an accident. When the report was finally revealed, it was found out that men are more likely to be killed in a collision accident than women. On the same year, IIHS has recorded at least 14,500 traffic facilities involving men and only 6,000 amongst the women group.
Will age and skill matters?
Interestingly, the report exposed that young men drivers, between 18 to 20 years old, share the same risk as an 80-year old woman driving. Of course, an 80-year-old woman will have a delayed reaction in terms of eye-hand coordination, blurring vision and other health problems; on the other hand, although an 18-year-old driver is alert with good vision and exemplary eye-hand coordination, but remains a risk-taker.
Both men and women at age of 24 onwards were found to be cautious and do some logical thinking behind the wheels, which is probably the reason why most insurance companies would drop their premiums on the driver’s 24th birthday.
Surprise, surprise!
Some of the collected statistics of the commissioned study were surprising. For instance, it was indicated that traffic accidents and fatalities during summer are twice as many as in the winter, specifically in the mountainous regions of the United States. These include New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Arizona.
Another quite disturbing discovery is the fatalities of a collision. The passenger who will most likely to die or suffer injuries is a four-year-old child strapped in a child safety support seat in the back seat. The “rush hour”, which normally happens in the morning and evening, is the time of the day where the traffic tends to crawl. Every regular commuter knows this fact.
If men drivers are not sold with the ideas presented above, then this one probably will. When it comes to traffic violations, there is not much of a difference between a male and female driver. While the severity and nature of the violations defer significantly, the violations among the men are closely tied up with being aggressive and reckless on the road, while women are ticketed for not stopping while making a right turn, forgetting to signal or improper lane change.
Many men may feel unfair that the car insurance companies in the US are offering them cheap auto insurance while women continue to enjoy even cheaper rates However, do not forget that some men are enjoying cheaper rates as well by enlisting women as their co-drivers or just adding a woman name under their own auto insurance policy.
