Do Women Outdrive Men?

Are women bad drivers? Are they better than men? My answer is that women are not statistically worse drivers.  In fact, by most safety metrics, women are better than men. Before I get to the nitty-gritty of this piece, which by the way is not open for debate, let me share my experience recently with male drivers, which is the reason for today’s piece.

It happened on Tuesday, 16 June 2026. On that day, I left the Federal Road Safety Corps Medical Centre at Gwarinpa, Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory. My destination was Kado Estate for my regular bean ball, popularly called akara. Since it was rush hour, traffic was a bit busy.

Cautiously, I approached the first traffic light by Market Place Supermarket, and I did what I was trained to do at traffic lights. I stopped when the red light signalled stop. Every other vehicle, mostly driven by male drivers, disregarded the traffic light signal. Yet I waited patiently.

Barely a few seconds after stopping, a black Camry driven by a male driver also stopped, making us two while others still ran the red light without any thought of the likely consequences of such driving behaviour. While waiting, I kept pondering why drivers, especially male drivers, flout traffic rules with so much disdain. Just then, the Camry driver greeted me with a smile and said, ’I stopped because I noticed you stopped for the traffic light, and I must tell you that I am impressed with what you did despite all the disregard by others.

I quickly acknowledged his compliments with thanks just before the green light signalled that we could go. It’s been more than a week since this happened, and I’m pondering today why male drivers are so daring. What really is the hurry? Why do we disregard traffic rules no matter the time of day and the place?

Are we not worried about the spate of crashes at traffic light junctions? Or even over the current spate of avoidable crashes and deaths nationwide? How long does the wait at a traffic light take? What do we lose if we wait, and what do we really gain by exhibiting such driving behaviours even when we have our beloved children in the car?

Please, if you are a male driver and a parent, I urge you to ponder this while I take us back to the gist for today. Every time I confront drivers for bad driving behaviours, nine out of ten are male. Based on this,I have the urge to believe that, irrespective of the metrics for driving used, women would thrash male drivers just the same way. Recently, studies suggest that women in public office are often perceived as more trustworthy and less prone to corruption in governance.

Does it then mean that women’s gender, according to my friend, presents a more responsible driving and leadership profile than men? I am not talking stereotypes here, but it is evidenced by what I see daily. I see more cautious women drivers, indecisive, yes, although poor parkers, while men tend to be overconfident, skilled and assertive, showing off most times.

I wish I had the statistics to drive home my point. Unfortunately, the deadline won’t allow me to wait for my guys to provide what they have in terms of citations and involvement in crashes, especially fatal crashes across all roads. In terms of assault, men are the Kungfu fighters ready to assault our operatives for daring to pull them over for the slightest infraction. Men’s ego put them in all sorts of trouble and citations; speeding, distracted driving, rage driving and driving under the influence (DUI), among others. Men, I must confess, are overconfident drivers who boast skills but become sober when their bad driving kills someone

If my data is not handy, let me look at what data from other climes shows. First, women have lower crash rates, fewer violations, and cheaper insurance in developed climes. Women are more careful in avoiding fatal crashes. Let me now sound like Rufai Oseni of Arise Television by fact-checking this gist using real data from other climes.

Here is what data from the United States of America says: men cause about 6.1 million crashes per year, as against women’s 4.4 million, despite similar numbers of licensed drivers. Interestingly, men are involved in more fatal road crashes per mile driven than women. For less risky behaviour, men get speedy citations, more DUIs, and, to confirm my story, are more likely to run red lights and drive aggressively.

Women, on the other hand, take fewer risks. They buckle up more often and don’t mix drinking and driving as frequently as male drivers do. If you are in doubt, please fact-check the insurance companies, which is why women pay lower premiums than men of the same age bracket. If you still doubt it, please contact an actuary, and you will blame yourself for making that call.

The bottom line is that men are bad, dangerous, and worse drivers than women, who, I agree, can be clumsy sometimes, unlike my Pastor Ayo Osinbajo, whose wife drives with so much boldness and expertise.

Let us now navigate more with the data details; on fatal crashes, men lead by a massive margin as they accounted for 72.5percent of motor vehicle fatalities in 2023 in the US. The data from the United Kingdom for 2024 shows that 76percent of road fatalities were male, while in the European Union, men accounted for roughly three-quarters of road deaths. The reports from Australia and Ireland say the same. Men. And always men.

In terms of riskier behaviour, men lead as they top the chart in speeding, alcohol-impaired driving and non-seat belt use. Even a study across 39 countries confirmed men consistently report riskier driving attitudes and behaviours, regardless of the nation’s gender equality level, which I am sure some would use to debate if allowed to.

On minor crashes, when you adjust miles driven, women have higher rates of non- fatal, property damage only crashes, which is partly because women drive fewer miles overall, but the fatal gap remains male-dominated. Let me conclude by allowing insurance experts to nail this talk. Although insurers cannot use gender in pricing in some regions, such as the EU, women pay less because they pose a lower risk, according to UK statistics.

Women pay about 620 pounds, compared to 765 pounds for men. The gap is even wider for younger drivers aged seventeen to twenty, as women pay one thousand and four hundred pounds compared to two thousand one hundred and twenty-eight pounds for male drivers.