Recently, MasterDrive published an article assessing the conclusion, albeit a questionable one, that both male and female drivers in South Africa are the worst in the ‘world.’ A new study conducted, on drivers from the USA only, found that the crash rate within males is 18.1 per 100 000 versus 5.1 per 100 000 in females.
The date was taken from statistics published by the National Highway Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, points to some interesting data revealed. “Those most at risk of dying in a car crash are aged between 21 and 25 with the age groups of 26 to 30 and 31 to 35 following consecutively.
“Additionally, male drivers are more likely to be in more non-fatal crashes overall than female drivers. To place the shocking statistic of males more likely to die in crashes in perspective, the stats say that there were 6 049 fatal crashes among females whereas males were involved in 21 329 accidents. As to whether these were fatal crashes, is never stated which can affect one’s final analysis of what this means.”
Whether this number is with regards to fatal crashes or not, it still paints a bleak picture for young male drivers. “As much as 72% of fatal car crashes were men in 2021. It also reveals that crashes involving males are more severe. Males also accounted for between 48% and 97% of fatalities between different classes of road users.
“Do these stats settle the debate that women are better drivers? Unfortunately, the information makes no mention of whether variables, such as the number of male vs female drivers and various other factors, were not mentioned. Thus, it is difficult to say but despite this is does indicate that there is problem.”
Even if it is a mistake to compare the stats without further research, the overall, non-scientific conclusion is concerning. “As the majority of fatalities are amongst young drivers, more attention needs to be paid to this. Whether this is additional training or more awareness campaigns, it is a folly, at best, to ignore what these statistics are saying.
“It is also a mistake to focus on who is the worst driver. This has little effect on reducing fatalities. Our time would be better spent researching what places drivers at risk and then taking a harsher stance on this. Settling an age-old debate about who are the worst drivers will certainly not make any difference,” says Herbert.