Are women more likely to cause car accidents than men? Are younger drivers a bigger threat, or does that honor go to older drivers? Is there any correlation between the two?
These are interesting questions to ask, and you can go over the data to see what types of drivers tend to cause accidents the most. This can help you understand some of the risks you face on the road. That doesn’t guarantee you can avoid those risks, as you must share the road with everyone, but it still helps to show why driving is still such a dangerous activity.
Adjusting for miles
One thing to consider, before digging into the differences, is that it’s wise to adjust the statistics for the number of miles driven. For instance, while men get involved in far more deadly crashes, they also drive more miles than women. You have to factor that in to see if they are a bigger threat or if they are just on the road more. For the following statistics, the IIHS has considered the fatalities per 100 million miles driven.
Deadly accidents: Men and women
First off, the reason men get involved in more deadly accidents is not just that they drive more. The statistics show that 2.1 male drivers died for every 100 million miles driven. It was just 1.3 for female drivers. That shows that the deaths for men came in 62% higher, even when considering the miles. Men are a greater threat on the roads and cause more of these very severe accidents.
Age played a role, as well
The age of the driver does come into play, and it’s more than just saying that young drivers cause accidents due to inexperience. The risk appears to be extra high for young men. When looking just at those between 16 years old and 29 years old, male drivers had “substantially higher” rates than female drivers.
In the 16-19 age bracket, for example, the rate was 6.3 for men and just 3.1 for women. In the 20-29 age bracket, it was 3.8 for men and 1.6 for women.
After that, the rates dropped substantially for both genders and became far more even. They came in at 1.7 for men from 30 all the way to 59. For women, the rate for that same age group was 1.1.
For both genders, it is clear that experience and maturity helped to lower the deadly accident rates, even though those people are in prime working age and commute constantly.
Legal options
If you get hit by another driver, regardless of age or gender, you need to know what legal options you have. It’s clear that high risks exist and you cannot escape that on America’s roadways.
