Women close the gap on male drivers

WOMEN are catching up on men when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a car and enjoying their independence on the road, official figures show.

As recently as a decade ago there was still a massive gender divide, with 81 per cent of men having a full car driving licence compared with only 61 per cent of women.

But by 2013-14 those figures had changed to 80 per cent of men and 67 per cent of women, a gap of 13 percentage points.

AA president Edmund King said the figures, released in the Department for Transport’s annual National Travel Survey, show that the days of driving being the preserve of men are long gone.

He said: ‘Women have always had a high influence on the purchase of cars, even when it’s the husband buying it. But in the past five years it’s gone beyond that and more women are going out and learning to drive.’

Mr King said that once people reach the age of around 20 there is little difference in the proportion of males and females who believe they need a car.

But he also added that women drivers are responsible for some of the aggressive behaviour which takes place on Britain’s roads. ‘We are seeing equality of the sexes behind the wheel much more than 20 or 30 years ago,’ he said.

‘It’s the good and the bad. When you look at things like road rage and parking rage, it’s not just the domain of the male.’