Men and women have different types of car accidents

scrap cars

Men and women may continue to argue about who are the better drivers, but one area where there is a clear difference between the sexes is the type of accidents they have in their cars.

Research by women’s car insurance specialist, Diamond has found there are certain types of accidents women are more likely than men to be involved in.

The list for women includes accidents in car parks, bumps on roundabouts and prangs at traffic lights. On the other hand, male motorists are more likely than female motorists to have a head on collision, drive their car up or down an embankment or hit a crash barrier.

Diamond studied data from over two million accidents over five years and found a marked difference between the types of accidents men and women have.

Sian Lewis, managing director of Diamond, said:

“We hold a vast amount of data on accidents and wanted to see if there was a difference between the sexes.

“It soon became clear that there was; women tend to be in more accidents at slower speeds, where cars are close together, while men have more high-speed accidents where it is easy to lose control.

“Our research suggests the way men and women drive is different. Possibly men drive faster and more aggressively than women, while women are more easily distracted than men behind the wheel of car.”

In fact, it isn’t just accidents where men and women motorists differ. There are differences when it come to other claims too; overall women are more likely to have their car broken into and have something inside stolen. However men are more likely to have their car stolen outright.

Men’s cars are also more likely to catch fire than women’s and they’re more likely to drive through a flood. Men are also more likely than women to claim for fuel contamination.

Sian Lewis added:

“It’s very strange that men’s cars are more likely to catch fire than women’s. I can’t explain why that would happen. But one reason why women are more likely to have their car broken into is perhaps because they’re more likely to leave expensive items like their handbag or sunglasses on show than men.”

About the Author

Personal finance writer for a host of publishers around the world, Mike is an avid follower of all things personal finance. He reveals what the latest personal finance headlines really mean for you and debunks common personal finance myths.

3 Comments on “Men and women have different types of car accidents”

  • Carlos Martins wrote on 29 June, 2010, 13:15

    Men’s cars are more likely to catch fire simply because they drive cooler, older cars.

    Will a little brand new MINI catch fire? Unlikely!!!

    On the other hand, a cool classic sports or muscle car is far more likely to catch fire.

  • Peter Courtley wrote on 26 May, 2011, 11:02

    Maybe an additional reason that men have more high speed accidents also because they are more likely to be on motorways due to long-distance, work-related driving? One aspect that seems to get very little focus when analysing data is also the link between mileage and accidents, i.e. accidents per miles driven. For example, pensioners that drive seem to be statistically very drivers but is this actually because they cover very few miles?

  • Peter Courtley wrote on 26 May, 2011, 11:06

    Maybe an additional reason that men have more high speed accidents is that they are more likely to be on motorways and high speed roads due to long-distance, work-related driving? This would support the reference to ‘drive their car up or down an embankment or hit a crash barrier’. Also, one aspect that seems to get very little focus when analysing data is the link between mileage and accidents, i.e. accidents per miles driven. Perhaps that is significant? For example, pensioners seem to be statistically very safe drivers but is this actually because they cover very few miles?

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