You'll Be Safer With a Woman Behind the Wheel

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While women are slightly more likely than men to be involved in car accidents on a per-mile basis, Freakonomics blogger Eric Morris points to some interesting data compiled by the Social Issues Research Centre that finds men are between 50% and 100% more likely to be in crashes that kill someone.

Why the wide — and dangerous — gap? Research suggests that men simply engage in reckless driving behavior more frequently than women. They are more likely to ignore traffic laws in general but specifically to run red lights, tailgate, race other drivers and drive drunk, researchers say. In fact, a 2004 study found that four times more men were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving than women.

One researcher even found that while women tend to think of traffic laws as “the law,” men are more likely to view those laws as “optional.”

The link between this behavior and men comes from aggression. Males are typically more aggressive by nature, and this can lead to reckless driving behavior. Male drivers will go sensation-seeking behind the wheel more often and engage in risk taking.

Therefore, research in this area is turning toward a biological explanation rather than a psychological one. Aggression and thrill-seeking are linked to testosterone levels (obviously greater in men). In other words, the same reason that men tend to commit more violent crimes is also behind the greater danger of men being involved in or causing a fatal accident.

Why You’d Rather Ride With a Woman Than a Man (Freakonomics)