As it turns out...women (shocking). But it's a close race.
To figure out whether men or women have "safest-driver" bragging rights, the Insurance Institute (II) looked at almost 2 million consumers who requested auto insurance quotes since January 1, 2009. Of those 2 million, 52 percent were men and 48 percent were women--a solid sampling of each.
II then compared the percentages of men and women who reported driving infractions in three categories: DUIs, all other types of moving violations (such as speeding tickets), and at-fault accidents.
The numbers shook out as follows:
| |
Men |
Women |
| Percent who reported at least one DUI |
0.93% |
0.48% |
| Percent who reported at least one moving violation |
7.41% |
6.57% |
| Percent who reported at least one at-fault accident |
4.00% |
4.29% |
| Total |
12.34% |
11.34% |
Men were almost twice as likely to have a DUI on their record, and were almost a full percentage point more likely to have a moving violation. On the other hand, women were slightly more likely to have an at-fault accident.
Overall, men were a full percentage point more likely to have some kind of infraction. That equates to almost 20,000 more men than women reporting incidents on thier records.
Conclusion? According to this data, women do appear to be safer drivers.
This data also supports the reasoning behind the fact that women tend to pay lower auto insurance rates than men. When comparing a random man with a random woman, you simply can't know who will be the safer driver. But when you look at a large sample, men are probably better off riding shotgun.
It uses an algorithm based on actual insurance rates that are filed with each state to estimate a rate for any driver and any vehicle.
With that said, you still will never find a man willing to give up his driver's seat to a woman, especially when it comes to road trips. The last time I did that I woke up from a nap with my wife screaming there was an outlet mall in 2 more exits...give me a break!