Changing patterns in women´s driving

Until relatively recently, the task of driving a vehicle was almost exclusively one for men. Only in the last few decades have women taken en masse to driving. This review analyses the driving behaviour of men and women and attempts to establish whether women are better or worse drivers than men. It...

Full description

Autores:
Durán Segura, Mercedes
Cantón Cortés, David
Tipo de recurso:
Fecha de publicación:
2009
Institución:
Universidad de San Buenaventura
Repositorio:
Repositorio USB
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:bibliotecadigital.usb.edu.co:10819/6382
Acceso en línea:
http://hdl.handle.net/10819/6382
Palabra clave:
Driving behaviour
Fatal crashes
Gender differences
Stereotypes
Conducción
Diferencias de género
Accidentalidad
Diferencias sexuales (psicología)
Estereotipo (psicología)
Respuesta al impulso
Accidentes de transito
Rights
License
Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 2.5 Colombia
Description
Summary:Until relatively recently, the task of driving a vehicle was almost exclusively one for men. Only in the last few decades have women taken en masse to driving. This review analyses the driving behaviour of men and women and attempts to establish whether women are better or worse drivers than men. It is paradoxical that according to the stereotype, women are less skilful at carrying out manoeuvres such as parking. However, it is said that women are more cautious at the wheel. The statistics show that men tend to be over-represented in traffic accidents although women are said to get distracted more easily, for example by looking at themselves in mirrors. This study discusses to what extent women’s driving patterns differ from those of men, how they have changed in recent decades and what the future predicts, taking into account the accident data of these groups. We contrast the popular belief, which portrays women as bad drivers, with data compiled from the literature on evolutionary and constitutional differences and the differing vulnerability of the two genders. We analyse whether differences exist in the frequency of driving between men and women, evaluating the characteristics, types of journey, accident data and, among other issues, styles of driving: caution vs. aggression at the wheel.