Women vs men in cars

In general, why do women drive so differently to men?

Although there are exceptions, I find that I men tend to:

  • be more confident
  • drive faster
  • drive more aggresively

whereas women tend to:

  • be more hesitant
  • drive slower
  • be more considerate

For example, if I’m doing 50mph and I’ve got someone tailgating 6 inches behind me, nine out of ten times its a man.

If I’ve got a car in front which is driving too slowly, or is hesitant in passing a slow moving car, it’s usually a woman. Of course, sometimes it’s an old person, as they sometimes drive like this also.

Women don’t seem to behave so differently to men in other aspects of day to day life. Why is it that when we get into a car, these differences become so apparant?

Opinions?

Heh. You’ve just described two women drivers I know. One of whom has the most creative swear words when people cut her off…

Sure, there are exceptions, but when you drive don’t you find that men and women’s driving habits generally fit the descriptions I listed? I for one can’t remember the last time I was cut off or swore at by a lady…

The first time I was cut off by a swearing maniac it was a woman. Sorry! :slight_smile:

Ok, I don’t know if she was swearing but she did flip me off!

I don’t cut people off. I do average 80-85 (when safe to do so, not crowded, etc) on the freeway, and if some dickwad tries to cut me off in his huge car or truck or van, I’ll play his hand and get my lil’ ol’ Shadow merged before he forces me onto the exit ramp. And yes, I’m female.

I will admit that your generalisations can be true, but it’s mostly for people older than me (I’m 20, I’m thinking of people in their late 30s-early 40s and up). I’ve noticed that most people my age or younger, male or female, drive much more aggressively.

Is it possible that some men use driving to vent some of their aggressiveness? It might be interesting to see a study on testosterone levels and how they relate to speeding tickets and wreckless driving.

I’ve never enjoyed driving fast. What’s the hurry? You might save yourself two minutes on a crosstown trip. What are you going to do with the two minutes you saved?

I generally try to stay with the flow of the traffic (within reason) but rarely pass.

Forty-two years of no speeding tickets and no moving violations.

I guess all this just means that women are nicer than men. <snort>

Sounds just like me!
I’ve been driving for 16 years without a ticket, and I’m sure it’s because I never surpass the speed limit, try to avoid angering my fellow drivers, and keep my eyes on the road. This tends to infuriate my passengers though…especially men!

Rushgeekgirl said:

You’ve been driving for 16 years and never surpassed the speed limit? I hesitate to say “liar liar” but I find this a real stretch to believe! :slight_smile: Everyone speeds occasionally… don’t they?

Zoe said:

Congrats, seriously that is an acheivement. I have had more speeding tickets than I care to remember in my 12 years of driving.

So… I guess because men have all that testosterone pumping through their body, this is what leads to aggresive driving? That’s my conclusion so far.

My money’s on the men in cars. Or do the women get to be in cars too?

I am in my thirties, female, I drive safetly, but I have driven 70-80 on the freeway. I do not drive dangerous, I drive careful. I do not do road rage, I have been known to Flip A Bird to someone though. I have had two speeding tickets, in my life, and no accidents.

Lately, I haven’t seen ANY difference between male and female drivers.

All of them are just as bad at navigating their 3 ton SUV’s through city traffic while talking on the cell phone and trying to juggle the latte in the other hand.

NONE of them are apt to pay any attention to my motorcycle - up until I pull up next to them at a light and blast the pipes in their direction :smiley:

I don’t think one can make blanket assertions about male vs. female drivers anymore. While I do think there was a difference back in the “olden times” when “men were men and cars were heavy iron” I don’t think there’s any significant difference today.

Some of the most aggressive and nasty drivers I’ve encountered have been female and some of the most courteous and patient have been male.

… and vice versa.

I think a scientific study of this would show a normal distribution curve regardless of gender.

I try to watch out for Motorcycle riders, I try to find out if they are riding Harleys. I don’t want to take any out.

I can’t agree with your generalizations, sam.

According to this site:

http://www.madd.org/stats/0,1056,2480,00.html

In 1999 there were more than twice as many male vehicular fatalities than female.

Also, there were nearly 3 times as many male vehicular fatalities caused by alcohol, compared with females.

Doesn’t this prove the part about “faster” and “more aggresively”?

TVGuy said:

Yeah, but please don’t just pick out SUV drivers - this applies to everyone. You’re just as guilty as me of generalizing if you say this.

Damn I thought this was going to be about a Demolition Derby (men vs women). :slight_smile:

I used to be said that women tended to have more fender benders but men tended to leave more bodies scattered around.

Lately I’ve noticed that many young women, ca. 21, are quite impatient and agressive. I still don’t think they are in the same league as 18 year old boys who have friends in the car with them. We all know how unreliable such observations are, though.

Ive observed both sexes to be equally aggressive and thoughtless. If anything, women tend to just assume youll slam on your brakes so they can pull out ahead of you and not hit them. This gives the illusion that its the other drivers fault.

No one seems happy going less than ten miles per hour over the speed limit, just to get to that red light a few seconds earlier. Its getting so its unusual to see a woman driver go by who isnt talking on a cell phone rather than concentrating, though. Maybe cell phones should be made so they wont function near a running car engine.

Oh, so it’s only women drivers who use cell phones now? Funny how most of the folks I’ve seen using them are men. I guess it all depends on what you’re looking for…

I drive decisively and I speed. I take my turns quickly, I assess a situation and make my decision as soon as possible and get my car the heck where I want it to go. I could be called an aggressive driver, but I do my best to be courteous to the others on the road, bikes, cars and trailers alike.

What annoys me most in others driving is dithering in traffic - to me this seems to cause more potential accidents than anything. dithering is NOT to be confused being cautious, it’s second-guessing yourself for so long that your move comes dangerously late - “Do I have enough time… hmm… not sure… well I’ll go anyways… why did he honk and me and brake?”

My dad raced motorcycles for 25 years… and then taught ME how to drive!

I was taught to drive like a man who races bikes: defensively to the point of aggressively, with much confidence and no hesitation. (He’d see me start to hesitate and yell, “punch it!” teaching me that once you’ve made a decision and committed yourself, hesitation can be dangerous and deadly.) To build my confidence, he took me to a parking lot and made me do figure eights backwards for about four hours. Now, of course, I drive better backward than forward… but I’m a hell of a parallel parker!

So I think how a person drives is primarily dependent upon who taught them to drive.

For ** Intaglio** – Dad also taught me to watch out for and be especially considerate of motorcycle riders. Actually, he didn’t – I just learned from riding on the back.