Bad news guys - women ARE 'better drivers than men' in EVERY department
IT is the question that has sparked arguments between generations of males and females.
|
|
|
|
|
|
GETTY IMAGES
But now it looks like the battle over who is the better driver has finally been won - by WOMEN, according to a new survey.
In what could set the blood of some male drivers boiling, female drivers outscored men not only in in-car tests, but also when observed anonymously using one of the UK's busiest junctions.
The assessment showed that more men than women approached hazards too fast, cut into traffic dangerously and admitted to using hand-held mobile devices while driving.
But surprisingly, another part of the survey found only 28 per cent of women believed they were better drivers than men.
The results of the survey will be particularly bitter for some male participants, with only 13 per cent of men thinking women were superior behind the wheel.
As part of the surgery by Privilege Insurance, a sample of 50 drivers faced in-car assessment while 200 were watched at Hyde Park Corner in London.
When marked on 14 different aspects of driving, women scored 23.6 points out of a possible 30, while men only racked up 19.8 points.
On one of the categories - tailgating - just 4 per cent of women drove too close to the vehicle in front compared to 27 per cent of the men.
The results also showed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, people's views on their driving skills differed dramatically from their actual skills.
When asked if they thought they drove at the appropriate speed for the situation, 84 per cent of men claimed they regularly did - in contrast to the 64 per cent that actually did.
I was quite surprised by the results
Nearly half of men approached hazards too fast, compared with only a quarter of women, while more than half of men drove through an amber light when it was turning to red, compared to just 14 per cent of women.
Only one per cent of women, but 14 per cent of men, cut into traffic dangerously, while 24 per cent of men, but only 16 per cent of women, admitted to using hand-held mobiles while at the wheel.
More men than women also admitted not indicating if they thought there was no one driving behind them.
The non-driving part of the survey involved 1,383 drivers.
Driving instructor Neil Beeson, who organised the tests for Privilege, said: "I was quite surprised by the results, because in my experience men have always been the best learners and usually performed better in lessons. However, it's possible that women have retained the information better.
"What this report shows is that men need to give their female counterparts their due when it comes to driving. The facts don't lie."
Charlotte Fielding, head of car insurance at Privilege, said: "The research has shown that there is a really big discrepancy between how men think they drive and how they actually drive."
