Results are in... women are the better drivers

Motoring: Female drivers hold far fewer penalty points, data shows

New government figures have finally settled an argument as old as motoring itself – are men or women the best drivers?

According to the statistics from the DVLA, women are the better drivers by far because they hold just 28% of the penalty points currently on UK licences.

Of the 10.6 million penalty points on licences on March 10 this year, no fewer than 7.7 million – 72% – were held by men.

Even taking into account the fact men make up 54% of the UK’s 40 million drivers, the difference has shocked motoring experts.

The figures were released following a freedom of information request to the DVLA.

They disclosed that there are currently 40,361,967 license holders in Great Britain, of whom 21,819,606 (54%) are men and 18,542,361 (46%) women.

But when it comes to the 10,600, 617 penalty points, men hold 7,668,498 while women hold just 2,932,119.

The DVLA also provided a detailed breakdown of the gender split for individual offences over the past two years.

Of the 1,840 drink-driving offences, 84% (1,543) involved men.

The 1,703,079 incidents where points were given for speeding on a public road, 31% involved women and 69% men. Men were guilty of 78% of recorded offences involving speeding on a motorway.

Even sexist assumptions about women’s fondness for chatting are confounded by the figures for using a mobile phone where men hold 82% of the recorded offences.

One of the most male-dominated offences – at 93% – is exceeding a goods vehicle speed limit.

Women are ahead of men in just three areas, aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring failing to give particulars or to report an accident within 24 hours, aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring driving while disqualified by order of court, and undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations.

Combined, these make up just 16 offences in total, and women committed 12 of them.

An AA Spokesman said: “Men are more likely to be risk-takers or put themselves or others in a situation where they are more likely to be put at risk.”

Steve Horton, director of communications at Road Safety GB, said: “What the data doesn’t indicate is the levels of mileage travelled by men and women and that could in some part indicate that men do more driving and hence have opportunity for more offences.

“It might also indicate that the police are more effective at targeting male drivers for certain offences.

“Of course offence levels aren’t necessarily an accurate illustration of perpetrator levels, just those detected.

“Many behaviours could be displayed by both men and women.”

An argument as old as the motor car itself has been settled – women are better drivers than men. A myth-busting report shows male drivers account for nearly three quarters of penalty points imposed on UK driving licences.

They account for the highest number of speeders, mobile phone users and drink drivers. They cause more fatal and serious accidents.

Such stats make jokes about reverse parking fatuous.