In a study of road traffic accidents published in 2007 in the Journal of Safety Research, university researchers considered the impact that the age and sex of those involved had on the level of car injuries in the United States. They found that the rate and severity of traffic accidents differed between men and women for various reasons. Among them were reaction time, physical differences in height, weight, and body structure, and the differing effectiveness of airbags and seatbelts.
The study did not, however, base any of its findings on "the nature" of female or male drivers. There is also no mention of the "soft driving" attributed to female drivers in a new survey produced for the Ministry of Interior, on which we reported yesterday. When assessing something as important - and as potentially deadly - as car accidents, facts should form the solid foundation upon which policy is made. Relying on sexist stereotypes of "adventurous" men and "more deliberate" women is the road to nowhere.
