Young men and women crash their cars at different times and in different ways.
Researchers at Kansas State University examined data from the Kansas State Transportation Department's crash stats of accidents involving drivers between 16 and 24 years old.
In the period between 2007 and 2011, they found that young women had more crashes at intersections and with pedestrians, while female driver accidents occurred more often during weekdays during working hours. Women were also 66% more likely to wear a seatbelt, but 28% more likely to drive on a restricted licence.
On the other hand, their male counterparts were more prone to crashing their cars during the night at weekends. They were also more likely to be involved in off-road crashes which, in turn more frequently had fatal consequences. Statistics for male fatalities included:
- 71% of all traffic
- 70% of all pedestrian accidents
- 87% of all accidents involving cyclists
In the US these statistics account for lower car insurance premiums for female drivers. However, in the EU, where women are also statistically safer drivers, this positive insurance discrimination has recently been negatedc due to a ruling by the European Court of Justice. The judgement has forced insurance companies to ignore gender-related risk, leading to women often seeing a rise in their insurance premiums, while men generally benefited from a slight decrease.