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June 24, 2003
The Best Drivers Are…
Who are better drivers – men or women?
Men as a group are not better drivers. And women are not just as good as men, they're better.
Bridgestone/Firestone's Centennial activities included a study of driving skill by gender. One of the test components was to ask which gender was the better driver. Surprise (not), each gender believed it was the safest behind the wheel.
More than three-quarters (76%) of the women replied that they were the safest drivers, even though 55% admitted that they occasionally exceeded the speed limit.
More than two-thirds (69%) of the men surveyed believed they were the safer drivers, but a full 60% of that group ‘fessed up to speeding every now and then.
Conclusions of this and similar studies say that women take fewer risks and seem to anticipate hazards better than men do. On average, men drive too fast and are more prone to drink and drive. They are more likely to break traffic laws, weave in and out of traffic, tailgate and speed. In short, women are better drivers.
I thought that was interesting...comments?
Maybe this is just from experience, but I think men are better drivers on the road. I can't tell you how many times I've seen women nearly get into major collisions because they were too busy putting on make up or looking at themselves in the mirror or talking on their cellphones. Guys do it too, but I see more women doing it than men.
Exceeding the speed limit is not necessarily the mark of a bad driver-- irresponsible, perhaps, but not bad in terms of actual skill.
Men feel more comfortable handling their vehicles at higher rates of speed, and can actually maintain control of the vehicle at those speeds better. That should be the standard of how "good" a driver is.
If anything, driving slow or over-cautiously could probably be deemed the sign of a bad driver, who is unsure of his or her own driving ability.
Quote:On average, men drive too fast ... are more likely to break traffic laws, weave in and out of traffic, tailgate and speed.
It's oh-so-obvious I wasn't part of this study. My defense is that drivers in Wisconsin (male and female) can't drive for shit. Fucking cheeseheads will slow down and stare at a piece of chewing gum on the side of the road. I actually long for some good old breakneck PA/NJ/NY driving.
I don't really want to touch this whole male/female issue. But the worst drivers I have ever seen happen to be old people. I don't mean the ones that are just retired or close to it, I mean the ones who got one foot on the brake and the other stepping thru a pair of "oops I crapped my pants". When I was in the Coast Guard stationed in Jersey a few yrs back, there were a rash of accidents involving senior citizens around the Shore. I am talking people well into their 70's and 80's who really should be driving nothing bigger than the motorized wheelchair (Cue the I'm a little rascal on my little rascal soundbite). These are the people you need to worry about. The ones that do 15 in a 45 or hit the brake so much you're afraid you'll be listening to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in the front seat with them any second. "I been driving for 37 years" Dude, did you ever think to stop and get a cup of coffee maybe??
So women are safer drivers than men, because they drive slower?
Using that logic...
Potheads are the safest drivers of all.
Quote:Men feel more comfortable handling their vehicles at higher rates of speed, and can actually maintain control of the vehicle at those speeds better.
Just because one feels "more comfortable" does not mean one is adept at it. That being said, I agree that driving slow is also a problem and I agree with Jimmy that the old farts are a huge problem. I won't ride in the car with my father (late 60s) because he'll do 55 in a 65 and complain that everyone else is "flying".
Several of the responses have interpreted the article to say that women drive "slow" -- it doesn't say that. It says they exceed the speed limit less frequently.
I personally don't buy the idea that one gender over the other are better drivers. Just like in everything else, there are good and bad within each.
Quote:Originally posted by SO
So women are safer drivers than men, because they drive slower?
Using that logic...
Potheads are the safest drivers of all.
:backflip: :bouncy: :backflip:
I CONCUR!
:backflip: :bouncy: :backflip:
Asians are the worst!!! They can't see shit through those damned slanty eyes of theirs :mad:
Women=safer drivers
Men=BETTER drivers
Stoned men=BEST drivers