The Social Science Journal 42 (2005) 595–601

Sex differences in attitudes toward driving: A survey

Jacqueline Bergdahl

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wright State University, 257 Millett Hall, Dayton, OH 45435, USA

Abstract

A survey of a convenience sample of 198 students at the University of Texas at El Paso was used todetermine if sex differences in attitudes toward the task of driving could be detected. Males reportedmore behaviors than females that would put them at higher risk of collision—like driving under theinfluence and in vehicles with high centers of gravity. In addition, men expressed more comfort thanwomen for driving at night, in unfamiliar territory and in bad weather. There was also some evidence ofhigher driving exposure for males than females. Women were more likely than men to report compliancewith traffic regulations: using turn signals and obeying speed limits. Overall, it appears than men havemore confidence in their driving skills than women. This confidence of males may reflect more of abelief in their superior driving skills rather than any disregard for the risks involved in operating a motorvehicle.© 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Men and women have different outcomes when operating motor vehicles. Intuitively wemight expect that when provided the same equipment, that males and females would use it ina similar manner. However, when it comes to driving and automobiles, men and women havedifferent experiences.

Men are much more likely to die behind the wheel than women, despite the fact that womenare almost as likely to be licensed to drive as men. There are three male drivers killed for everyfemale driver killed (Bergdahl & Norris, 2002) and yet, women are 48.7% of licensed drivers(NHTSA, 2001). Several reasons for this discrepancy have been proposed. Some researchersuse a risk-taking model that proposes than men are more likely than women to take risks behindthe wheel, thus exposing them to more death (Mannering, 1993). And indeed, men do drivedifferently relative to women: they are more likely to drive during more risky times—likelate at night (Williams, 1985), on weekends when traffic is denser (Veevers, 1982) and afterdrinking (Veevers and Gee, 1986). But some researchers have noted that women’s rates of

0362-3319/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.soscij.2005.09.006

596 J. Bergdahl / The Social Science Journal 42 (2005) 595–601

traffic death are increasing and propose this is because women are becoming more like menin their risk-taking propensities (Popkin, 1991), while others argue that women’s rates areincreasing not because their risk-taking is changing, but instead because they have increasedexposure to traffic death (Bergdahl, 1999). Women’s rates of traffic death have increased, butthey are not going to achieve parity with men in traffic death any time soon.

2. Sex differences

Surveys have found some sex differences between young drivers.Harre, Field and Kirkwood(1996) found that males were significantly more likely than females to report engaging inunsafe driving behaviors, drinking and driving, speeding on the open road and breaking thenight curfew associated with being on a restricted license. Males expressed more confidencethan females for driving in situations perceived as hazardous: driving in a snowstorm, drivingin a crowded downtown area, speeding, to cool off after an argument, and drinking and driving(Farrow & Brissing, 1990). Wieczorek, Mirand, and Callahan (1994)found males expressedmore comfort in hazardous driving situations and were more likely to express themselves emo-tionally through driving than females. Male drivers also had less expectation of consequences(crash, injury, parental disapproval, citation) attached to the reckless driving activity.

3. Results

The sample was predominately female (66%) and their average age was 22.3 years. Maleswere somewhat, but not significantly, older at 23.2 years. The University of Texas at El Pasois a school with a Hispanic majority and this sample reflected that: 75% of respondents wereHispanic, 20.5% were White, 3.7% African-American and 0.5% Asian-American. Breakoutby race and ethnicity were similar for males and females.

Males in this sample began operating cars almost a year earlier than females. Men werean average 15.6 years when they began operating motor vehicles, compared to 16.4 years forwomen (t = 2.84,p = .005).

Respondents were asked to indicate what type of vehicle that they generally drive. Bothmen and women were most likely to drive a car or sedan (61.8 and 78.8%, respectively), butmen were more likely than women to drive a sport utility vehicle, pickup truck or minivan(χ2 = 11.646,p = .02).

Surprisingly, slightly more female than male students reported not having a valid driver’slicense (6.2 and 2.9%, respectively), but this difference was not statistically significant. Roughly15% of both males and females reported not currently having insurance on their vehicle.

Table 1presents the responses to the statement “I follow the speed limit in these situations.”Students were asked to respond on a Likert scale of always, frequently, sometimes, rarelyand never for eight driving situations. Men were most likely to respond “sometimes” to thequestion about following the speed limit at night than women, who were most likely to respond“frequently”. This difference was significant at the .01 level. A similar pattern of response wasseen for the statement “I follow the speed limit during rush hour.” And again, it achieved

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Table 1I follow the speed limit in these situations

Always Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never

M F M F M F M F M F Sig.

Night 11.8 25.4 27.9 40.0 44.1 23.8 14.7 9.2 1.5 1.5 .01Rush hour 13.4 28.5 28.4 40.0 34.3 22.3 23.9 6.2 0 3.1 .001Residential 20.6 26.9 41.2 46.2 30.9 19.2 7.4 6.9 0 0.8 nsSchool zones 63.2 76.2 20.6 16.2 13.2 6.2 2.9 0.8 0 0.8 nsFoul weather 45.6 66.2 29.4 26.2 20.6 4.6 4.4 0.8 0 2.3 .001Freeway 10.3 16.2 22.1 26.2 29.4 33.8 32.4 19.2 5.9 4.6 nsMain streets 14.9 16.3 32.8 37.2 35.8 33.3 14.9 12.4 1.5 0.8 nsSide streets 13.2 18.5 35.3 40.8 35.3 26.9 13.2 13.1 2.9 0.8 ns

statistical significance. Females (66.2%) were significantly more likely than males (45.6%) toreport following the speed limit during foul weather. Men reported they rarely followed thespeed limit on the freeway and women sometimes, but these differences were not significant.This was also true of following the speed limit on main or side streets.

Males were significantly more likely to report using a radar detector than females. About13% of males and 5% of females had a radar detector in their vehicle.

Students were asked a yes/no question about whether they drank alcohol. Males were morelikely (76.1%) than females (54.4%) to respond in the affirmative (χ2=8.873,p = .003). Whenthey were asked how many drinks it took before they were legally drunk, males reported amean 5.5 drinks and females 4.3 drinks—not a significant difference. Students were also askedto give an estimate of their weight and males at 182.7 pounds were significantly heavier thanfemales at 138.3 pounds (t = 8.20,p = .0001).

Students’ average estimates of the number of drinks they could consume before beingconsidered legally intoxicated were entered into a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) calculatorfound on the web (www.hrmvideo.com/cgi-bin/baA.cgi.pl). This estimation of BAC is basedon sex, body weight and number of drinks consumed. On average, students are well aware ofhow much they can drink and drive before reaching the per se limit. A 183 pound male havingconsumed five drinks would have a BAC of .087. A 138 pound female having consumed fourdrinks would have a BAC of .092, both estimates are within the per se limit in Texas at thetime of 0.10.

Students were asked, “Have you ever operated your vehicle after consuming alcohol?” Bothsexes were more likely to report that they did drink and drive than not, however there weresignificant differences by sex. Among those students who drank alcohol, men were much morelikely to report drinking and driving than women. Eighty-four percent of the males and 67.9%of females who drank reported having driven after consuming alcohol.

There was also a question about operating a motor vehicle after consuming other types ofsubstances like prescription drugs or marijuana. Significantly more males than females reporteddriving after using substances.

Males were more likely than females to report having been in a collision. Approximately60% of males and 40% of females had been involved in a vehicle collision when they weredriving. Males reported an average 1.2 collisions and females 0.6, and this difference was

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Table 2How do you feel about driving. . .

Very safe Safe Neither Unsafe Very unsafe

M F M F M F M F M F Sig.

At night? 12.1 3.9 56.1 45.0 24.2 35.7 7.6 15.5 0 0 *In unfamiliar area? 6.2 5.4 18.5 7.8 32.3 22.5 43.1 51.9 0 12.4 **In the city? 16.7 10.2 48.5 53.9 18.2 24.2 15.2 10.9 1.5 0.8 nsIn bad weather? 3.0 2.3 28.8 18.6 33.3 17.1 24.2 46.5 10.6 15.5 **After drinking? 3.1 2.4 12.5 4.1 29.7 13.0 29.7 37.4 25.0 43.1 **Sleepy or tired? 1.5 0.8 12.1 3.9 22.7 17.8 47.0 50.4 16.7 27.1 nsTowing a trailer? 3.1 0 9.2 5.7 41.5 30.1 30.8 41.5 15.4 22.8 nsAn unfamiliar car? 4.5 2.4 22.7 15.7 43.9 38.6 22.7 32.3 6.1 11.0 nsWhen angry? 3.1 0.8 20.0 17.1 43.1 40.3 21.5 34.9 12.3 7.0 nsBeing tailgated? 3.1 0.8 13.8 3.9 23.1 20.5 43.1 54.3 16.9 20.5 nsAt 70 mph? 16.7 4.7 40.9 35.2 22.7 22.7 16.7 27.3 3.0 10.2 **At 80 mph? 13.6 1.6 24.2 14.8 24.2 17.2 33.3 40.6 4.5 25.8 **At 90 mph? 7.6 0.8 10.6 7.0 19.7 7.8 37.9 37.5 24.2 46.9 **

significant (t = 3.40, p = .001). Students were also asked to indicate the number of colli-sions at which they were at fault. Males reported an average of 0.82 collisions where theywere at fault, while females reported 0.66 at-fault collisions. This was not a significantdifference.

Females were significantly more like than males to report always or frequently using turnsignals (97.7 and 85.3%, respectively). However, both sexes were equally likely to reportlocking their car doors while driving and wearing a seat belt. Both sexes were more likely tofear being stranded by their vehicle than not: 54.5% of males and 64.8% of females responded“yes” to the question “Is being stranded by your vehicle a concern for you?”

Respondents were asked how they would feel on a Likert scale for thirteen different drivingsituations (Table 2). Significantly more males than females reported feeling safe or very safedriving at night. More males than females also reported feeling safe driving in unfamiliarterritory, in bad weather, and after drinking. Males reported more comfort with driving athigher speeds than females. Almost 60% of males felt safe or very safe driving at 70 mph,compared to only about 40% of females. At 80 mph, 37.8% of males indicated they wouldfeel unsafe or very unsafe driving at this speed while 66.4% of females felt similarly. At90 mph, 18.2% of males reported feeling safe or very safe while only 7.8% of females alsofelt that way. Differences were in a similar direction for driving in the city, when sleepy ortired, in an unfamiliar car, when angry, and while being tailgated, but did not achieve statisticalsignificance.

4. Discussion

There were significant sex differences in reported behaviors and attitudes towards the taskof driving. Males have more experience and exposure to driving. Men started driving a full yearearlier than women on average. This added exposure could be a factor in males reporting morecollisions than females. But also consider that males express more comfort with driving during

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foul weather—this would put them at higher risk for a collision too since more collisions occurduring bad weather.

Males are more likely to drive vehicles that put them at more risk of death or injury. Moremen than women in this sample reported driving vehicles with higher centers of gravity (likesport utility vehicles and pickup trucks). This would put men at higher risk of a rollover typecrash, which are the most common type of fatal crash event.

Males reported more impaired driving than females, both for alcohol and other substances.However, men were more likely than women to simply consume alcohol, so that might mitigatethe finding that men were more likely to drive impaired. Surprisingly, both groups were verywell aware of how much alcohol they could consume and still be under the per se limit of0.10. Impaired driving puts people at elevated risk of collision and possible death. Alcohol inparticular depresses the central nervous system and reduces reaction times. Impairment canoccur at blood levels as low at 0.01 (Shiner, 1978, p. 45).

Fatal crashes are more common at night, especially in the hours after midnight, so drivingat night is inherently more risky than driving during daylight hours. Men are more likely todie in a crash at night as opposed to day (Bergdahl, 1996). So the comfort for driving at nightexpressed by these male college students is indicative of attitudes that could put them at higherrisk of traffic death than females who feel less safe about driving at night and may avoid nightdriving as a result.

We may fear driving in unfamiliar places and take more precautions when traveling longdistances (like wearing seatbelts), but in fact we are more likely to be crash while driv-ing the areas near our home, simply because we spend more time driving there (increasedexposure) (Smiley, 1999). Males in this study reported feeling more comfort than femaleswhile driving in unfamiliar territory. This seems to indicate a more confident and relaxedattitude towards driving overall, or again, belief in their ability to handle any drivingsituation.

Most fatal crashes occur in clear weather so men’s confidence for driving in foul weatherdoes not seem problematic from risk-taking perspective. There are more collisions during foulweather but fewer fatalities—reduced speeds because of conditions make collisions that occurless harmful (Evans, 1991, p. 386). In fact, some researchers have found that women are morelikely to have fatal crashes during foul weather (Laapotti & Keskinen, 1998). It appears thatwomen have less experience driving in adverse conditions and this increases their risk in foulweather driving conditions.

It is estimated that about 40% of fatal crashes involve alcohol (NHTSA, 2001). Not only didmales in this sample reported significantly more impaired driving than females, they addition-ally expressed more comfort than females with driving after drinking. This factor alone wouldput males at higher risk of crashing their vehicles.

Men expressed more comfort with driving at higher speeds and were much more likely toreport using a radar detector than women. These findings indicate that more men than womenare desirous of driving faster. Males probably also have more experience. Speeding is stronglyrelated to higher risk of traffic crashes (NHTSA, 2001).

Males expressed more confidence than females for handling adverse driving conditions.Males were more likely to report feeling safe or very safe driving at night, in unfamil-iar territory, in foul weather and after drinking. This confidence may be a result of more

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time behind the wheel but it may also indicate a disregard for the risks involved. Malesseem to attach more importance to their prowess behind the wheel than females (Farrow &Brissing, 1990). So their increased confidence for driving in less than optimal conditionsmay reflect a belief in their superior driving skills rather than a disregard for the risksinvolved.

5. Conclusion

Men and women definitely differ in their approach to the task of driving. Males express moreconfidence in their driving skills for overcoming adverse driving conditions. Women expressmore cautious or fearful attitudes toward less than optimal driving conditions. Women are morecautious when it comes to certain aspects of the driving task like driving at high rates of speedand they exhibit at more utilitarian attitude towards the driving task compared to young males’more hedonistic attitudes toward the same task.

Males appear to have a more emotional attachment to driving while females have amore utilitarian attitude toward the task. Warning female drivers may be sufficient to getthem to modify their driving behaviors, but it appears that young males will cling to theirbelief in their superior driving skills and put themselves in driving situations that increasetheir risk of collision and death. Future research needs to find out if this is indeed thecase.

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