‘Recruit more female drivers as way to reduce road deaths’

TRANSPORT firms should consider employing more female drivers as it would cut the number of road fatalities, a study by the University of Westminster has suggested.

Researchers found men pose a “significantly higher” risk to other road users after studying accident data collected from Police Injury Statistics, the Road Traffic Statistics website; the National Travel Survey and the Office for National Statistics.

They examined the risk posed, per billion vehicle kilometres travelled, by each gender to other road users from cycles, cars and taxis, vans, buses, lorries and motorbikes – in rural or urban locations.

For cars and vans, the risk posed by male drivers was double that posed by women per kilometre driven, rising to four times higher for lorry drivers and more than 10 times higher for motorbike riders. About 95 per cent of deaths involving lorries taking place with men behind the wheel.

Dr Rachel Aldred, the lead researcher from the University of Westminster, pointed out that most driving jobs tend to be male-dominated and suggested companies should look to add more women to their workforce as a tactic to improve safety.

She said: “Greater gender equity would have a positive impact on these injuries. Policy-makers should be looking to measure the risk posed to others, and how to reduce it. We suggest policy-makers consider increasing gender balance in occupations that substantially involve driving.”

The study found cars and taxis were associated with two thirds of fatalities, while lorries were involved in one in six deaths. Cycling was associated with the fewest deaths.

The findings are published in the journal Injury Prevention.