Whether it’s the notorious “women drivers” stereotype or not, a new study from Netstar shows that women are actually better drivers than men.
This may come as a surprise to some, but the stats don’t lie. In fact, women are involved in far fewer accidents than men and they also have a lower average insurance claim amount. This is one of the conclusions drawn from customer-incident data released by Netstar, an Altron subsidiary that specializes in stolen vehicle recovery and fleet intelligence.
The new data calculates the number of reported vehicle impacts, harsh braking, harsh acceleration, and harsh cornering as a percentage of total male and female Netstar customers. Women outperformed men across the board.
During the time period studied, registered vehicle impacts (e.g., hitting potholes, kerbs, or other vehicles) by women customers accounted for 1.3% of Netstar’s total female customer base, compared to 1.4% for men. Registered incidents of harsh braking represent 16.9% of female members and 22.8% of male members. Women experience harsh acceleration at a rate of 4%, while men experience it at a rate of 10%. The proportions for harsh cornering are 13,2% (women) vs 18,8% (men) (men).
Check out the table below:
| Factor | Men | Women | Better Drivers? |
| Registered vehicle impacts (Hitting potholes, kerbs, cars etc) |
1.4% | 1.3% | WOMEN |
| Harsh braking | 22.8% | 16.9% | WOMEN |
| Harsh acceleration | 10.0% | 4.5% | WOMEN |
| Harsh cornering | 18.8% | 13,2% | WOMEN |
Overall women are better drivers
“The findings indicate that our female customers drove better than our male during the four months that we measured,” says Cliff de Wit, chief technology officer at Netstar.
“The data was gathered using Netstar telematics – a combination of vehicle sensors, GPS, and telecommunications technology, and supports emerging offerings like usage-based vehicle insurance and underwriting.”
The data provides insurers with direct, real-time information to help them understand their clients’ driving behavior, allowing them to set relevant premiums and incentivize safer, more sustainable driving.
The Netstar data back up the findings of a recent UK survey of road fatality data. The study, published in Injury Prevention, a journal of the Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR), discovered a significant gender disparity in terms of driving performance and the risk posed by male drivers.
According to the data, men had more fatalities per billion kilometers traveled than women. This was true for all vehicle types, including cars, vans, lorries, motorcycles, buses, and bicycles.
“Despite the outcome of such studies, we encourage drivers of all gender identities to drive safely and to use their telematics data to improve their performance and protect lives”, de Wit concludes.
More CarMag news:
