Men think they are, women are sure they are.

The much-debated matter of who makes the better driver has raged for years.

Now new statistics have entered the forum.

The latest research, gathered on behalf of price comparison website, show that women are safer drivers.

The figures show that men are almost four times more likely to commit a motoring offence than women.

In total, more than 585,000 drivers in England and Wales were taken to court for breaking the law on the road in 2017 of which 79% were men.

The same statistics show that 23% of these offences were men slapped with a speeding ticket while women 7% committed the same offence. Men also outweighed women five to one when it came to drink-driving offences and two to one for driving without tax or insurance.


In 2017, 65% of insurance claims were made by men, of which 17% were fault claims. In comparison, 35% claims came from women – 9% of which were at fault.

Not only this, but men are more likely to have bad driving habits with 23% male motorists admit to not indicating when switching lanes, compared to 17% of women.

Men are more likely to tailgate another driver with 12% admitting the fault compared to 7% of women.

However, there are some bad habits where women pip their male counterparts.

A total of 12% of women admitted to driving in bare feet as opposed to just 6% of men, while 48% of females confessed to eating while driving - one percent higher than the men.

The figures from the company’s latest car insurance price index show women are paying £92 less for their insurance than men, with the average premium for them being £701.

And the riskier driving behaviour displayed by men has cost them dearly over the years.

According to the index, men have paid £3,327 more on average than women for car insurance over the past decade.

Insurers base the cost of a driver’s car insurance on the risk of them making a claim using historical claims information available.


Prior to this, men were paying up to £121 more for their car insurance.



Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at, said: “As a female racing driver, I know women can hold their own when it comes to driving, and data suggests that they are in fact safer on the roads.

“And this is reflected in the fact that they are paying almost £100 less for their premiums.

“And this could be down to the fact that more men committed more motoring offences in comparison to women. Not only this, but they also often own more expensive cars, which means claims are likely to be more expensive.”