Women Are Better Drivers

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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It's titles to articles that really get people annoyed. It would probably be OK to say Mercedes-Benz make better cars than BMW. Somehow, it's acceptable to compare the strengths and weaknesses of brands. But once we get into the area of individual skills, passions are involved. There would be hours of argument on whether Dario Franchitti is a better driver than A.J. Foyt. Most adults know how to drive and, as fans of Indy heroes, they will appreciate an everyday skill raised to the highest level. All this is safe territory. No one feels threatened by talk of the best, particularly when one is now retired. But start talking about whether you or your partner is the better driver, and egos are on the line - tempers are likely to get frayed very quickly. We are all proud of what we do. That's a part of what gives us the confidence to keep doing it. Accusing A of not being as good a driver as B is entering a potential war zone.

Yet, if you go to the people who collect evidence about traffic accidents - that's a range of people from the ambulances that carry drivers to hospitals, to the police and courts who decide whether ...
... anyone should go to jail, to the insurers who have to pick up some of the bills - they will all tell you the same story. Ambulances carry fewer women drivers. They are less likely to be injured because they drive more slowly than men. Women are less likely to break the law than men and so pick up fewer tickets and rarely commit offenses serious enough to justify jail time. Insurers prefer women drivers because they are rarely in serious accidents as drivers. They are injured seriously as often as men because, in most cases, they are being driven by men who ignore the basics of safe driving.

The result of this statistical reality is that insurance companies offer lower premium rates to women and that more women drivers qualify for discounts than their male equivalents. So, on both counts, women usually pay less than men for driving the same makes and models of vehicles. This is rubbing salt in the wounds. Men usually argue that all drivers should be treated as a single group. This would mean everyone pays the same premium to drive and so force all the good drivers to subsidize all the bad. Not surprisingly, there are more good drivers than bad and they have voices. They can and do complain if they are victimized by insurance companies in this way. Indeed, many insurers offer women-only policies. The cheapest rates are for women in the 50s. So when you are collecting those vital car insurance quotes, look around the field as a whole. Get quotes from insurers who mix the sexes. Just because a women-only specialist may give a good rate this year, does not mean the competition will not match prices. But also get auto insurance quotes from the specialists as well. That way, you guarantee finding the cheapest coverage.