DailyDirt: Who Drives Best -- Men, Women... Or Robots?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

If you believe in gender stereotypes, then you probably think that men are better drivers than women. However, auto insurance companies are inclined to believe that women are actually safer drivers. It's a hotly debated topic, but it's safe to say that there are lots of bad drivers -- both men and women -- on the road. That's why we need robot cars. Here are a few links to some driving-related studies. By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: accidents, autonomous vehicles, cars, drivers, gender stereotypes, parking, robots
Companies: bmw, ford, toyota


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 5:29pm

    At least the robots won't spend so much time on retouching their make-up. Unless its one of those 'special' robots from Japan.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Mike42 (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 5:29pm

    Having spoken to people who did the studies, it turns out that more men drive than women, especially 30+ years ago. The companies who did the studies were told that their study would show that women drive better than men, so that the insurance companies could get more money.
    They also use speeding tickets as a metric, which as we know is bogus. Speeding tickets have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with lining the city coffers. Also, how many men have cried their way out of a ticket?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      :Lobo Santo (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 5:34pm

      Re: Crying games

      Never tried crying my way out of a ticket... just didn't occur to me at the time.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 10:26pm

      Re:

      That makes sense, and it's incredibly depressing that such dishonesty is accepted as true at worst, and just a fact of life at best.

      It makes me want to say "screw it" to trying to live right and just starting my own racket instead.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      timmaguire42 (profile), 24 Feb 2012 @ 8:30am

      Re:

      My old driving instructor said that women cause many more accidents then men but the typical male accident is a 3-car pile up while drag racing and the typical female accident is a fender bender from hitting a light pole while applying makeup.

      Even toned down, that easily answers the superficially oxymoronic question of why insurance companies treat women as better drivers even though men cause fewer accidents.

      But then, with an equally straight face, he compared Loverboy favorably to the Beatles.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    fb39ca4, 23 Feb 2012 @ 6:57pm

    dat sexism...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 23 Feb 2012 @ 7:34pm

    Ummm,

    "Blame it on testosterone, which increases aggression and risk-taking. "

    Blame it on dumb-asses crossing without paying attention.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 23 Feb 2012 @ 7:37pm

    "According to the professional driving instructor who created the study, men learn and perform better during driving lessons, but it's possible that women retain what they learn better than men."

    He was overheard saying to one of his female drivers..."Have sex with me and I'll forget how poorly you park".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Suja (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 7:44pm

    both suck, get off my road, kthx

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Feb 2012 @ 3:36am

    Zombies!
    Sorry, old memes die hard. ;)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Old Fool (profile), 24 Feb 2012 @ 4:34am

    Men are better drivers

    Your confusing 'safe driving' with 'best driving'

    Driving very slowly and waiting till the roads are empty at junctions may be safe, but it's not 'better'.

    How many women are in car racing? Very few, and don't say it's because it a 'man's world' - the fastest driver will win whatever sex they are.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 24 Feb 2012 @ 6:35am

      Re: Men are better drivers

      How many car crashes has Danica Patrick caused or been in? Now all the other crashes were caused by men. Looks like men are the bad drivers. (Note: this data does not include demolition derbies, I saw a woman win one of those once)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Renz Virane, Jr., 26 Feb 2012 @ 6:43am

    with an equally straight face, he compared Loverboy favorably to the Beatles.
    Maid Service

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Paul, 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:31am

    IQ

    Instead of being sex biased how about ranking accident volume against IQ? My guess is there aren't many stupid pilot in the sky but they let anyone with $10 in their pocket get behind the wheel of a car.

    If you're a half wit, you are more likely to get into a dangerous situation in a car because your brain power isn't up to the task of comprehending vehicle dynamics in real time.

    Robotic control of vehicle brakes/dynamics in emergency situations is fine and most definitely preferred, but.... increased driver SCREENING and TRAINING is what is required for drivers on public roads.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Shine (profile), 3 Mar 2012 @ 12:31am

    I think women may not be the best drivers but they are the safest drivers since women are more cautious that men. They also drive slower than men so accidents caused by them are not as serious as accidents caused by men. Of course, this is just my opinion. :)

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.