"Results
from our recent survey of American drivers show that young
women are literally leaving their male counterparts in the
dust"
Young
Women Replace Men as the Fastest on the Road
Common wisdom
has it reportedly that it's the young men who
are the fast drivers. Not anymore, reveals a
national survey from The Hartford Financial
Services Group.
"Our culture traditionally has associated
young men with fast cars and fast
driving," said George Thacker, senior
vice president, personal lines marketing at
The Hartford. "But that appears to be
changing. Results from our recent survey of
American drivers show that young women are
literally leaving their male counterparts in
the dust, and unfortunately, they're also
getting into more accidents."
The survey reportedly found that 56 percent of
women between the ages of 18 and 24 think it's
acceptable to drive 10 mph over the speed
limit on highways, compared to 46 percent of
their male counterparts. And although the
majority of young women and young men think
it's not acceptable to speed on local roads,
more young women (21 percent) say it's okay to
speed than young men (13 percent).
"When it comes to driving, young women
definitely appear to be living more
dangerously, and like the male hot rodder of
the past, they're suffering more of the
consequences," said Thacker.
"Forty-five percent of young women report
being in an accident in the past three years,
compared to 33 percent of young male
drivers."
Thacker noted an interesting incongruity
revealed by the survey: that even though young
men are speeding less, they're getting more
tickets than young women drivers. Forty-eight
percent of young men have received a speeding
ticket, compared to 37 percent of young women.
"The good news is that when it comes to
obeying common rules of the road, young women
tend to drive more cautiously than young
men," continued Thacker. "They're
more likely than their male counterparts to
reduce speed when roads are wet, to avoid
passing vehicles on the right and to stop when
a school bus has yellow lights flashing.
"Young drivers need to be reminded of all
the benefits of safe driving, including the
financial ones. Fast driving, obviously,
threatens safety and can cause accidents, but
it also can drive up insurance costs. Parents
with teenagers who are good drivers will want
to make sure their premium accurately reflects
the driving record and risk of each driver on
their insurance policy."
The nationally representative study, which was
conducted by Opinionsite, an independent
research company, surveyed more than 1,000
registered drivers, aged 18 or older, across
the country earlier this year. It had a +/- 3
percent margin of error.
