Men aggressive, vindictive drivers: study

Live News ^ | 01/25/2009

[BuckeyeTexan]

Confirming what many women have known for years, new research shows men are more aggressive, dangerous and prone to road rage behind the wheel. Male drivers are twice as likely to ignore speed limits than the fairer sex and more likely to seek revenge when they feel wronged by other drivers, according to the study by insurer AAMI.

More than 2,500 men and women Australia-wide took part in the survey about driving experiences, habits and practices, which showed men are more inclined to rage against other drivers to vent their frustration on the roads. "Men admitted to engaging in a range of aggressive, dangerous and even illegal behaviours on our roads, in much higher numbers than women," AAMI spokesman Mike Sopinski said. "And while it has long been suggested that men take greater risks than women, this research clearly shows that men are themselves a greater risk on our roads."

While men and women are just as likely to gesture rudely at a motorist, men more often take the road rage further, he said. "More men than women (28 per cent versus 17 per cent) say they have been so angry with the actions of another driver that they have tailgated them," Mr Sopinski said. "Worse still, almost twice as many men as women say their tailgating was justified because of the other drivers' actions (17 per cent versus 11 per cent), which clearly shows more men than women are willing to sacrifice their safety - and that of other motorists - to get a bit of payback."

Male drivers are not all bad though. They are far more likely to warn other drivers about speed cameras by flashing their lights (60 per cent of men compared with 48 per cent of women). And not all women are angels on the road either - some just terrorise the roads at slower speeds, the research shows. Women are more likely to lodge claims for damage caused by striking stationary objects. "Women were slightly more likely than men to lodge claims for damage caused by colliding with a stationary object - 52 per cent of claims for hitting a pole, tree, fence or building were from women," Mr Sopinski said.

Women were more likely than men to hit a parked car (56 per cent versus 44 per cent) and also more likely to collide with pedestrians and cyclists (53 per cent versus 47 per cent), he said.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Snicker ...

[Leisler]

I’d like to kill whoever wrote this article.....

[GOP_Lady]

My husband drives like an old lady, but I don’t. :-)

[DuncanWaring]

Not my experience.

[9YearLurker]

What man is going to admit he hit a pole or a tree in filing an insurance claim?

[Mariebl]

Colliding with a stationary object is usually unavoidable—it can’t dodge!

[TheZMan]

The only reason I selectively do the speed limit is to avoid the 30 minute delay of getting a ticket. I paid for the car, gas, road and the officer giving the ticket.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

"more aggressive, dangerous and prone to road rage behind the wheel. Male drivers are twice as likely to ignore speed limits than the fairer sex"

It's OK lady study-leader, you can go to mainland europe. Lots of effeminate, hand-drooping males there, who drive 2 miles under the speed limit and stop when a column of ants is crossing the road.

Men are men.

[P8riot]

Male drivers are not all bad though. They are far more likely to warn other drivers about speed cameras by flashing their lights (60 per cent of men compared with 48 per cent of women).

I have an evil twist on this one. I live on a two lane country road with a lot of twists and turns, and the speed limit is 35. I flash my lights when there are no police around, and don't when there are.

[LiberConservative]

Women were more likely than men to hit a parked car (56 per cent versus 44 per cent) and also more likely to collide with pedestrians and cyclists (53 per cent versus 47 per cent.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

(snort)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

[Ditter]

Same here. I am the designated driver, not because he consumes alcohol, neither of us drink, ever. I just like to drive and I do all of it, even on cross country trips. I have to admit, I am aggressive.

[anniegetyourgun]

I understand this. Mr. Gun drives like he’s on a dare.

[P8riot]

Haven't seen these posted in a while.

1. The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention.

2. I thought my window was down but found it was up when I put my hand through it.

3. A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.

4. The guy was all over the place. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.

5. I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.

6. The accident occured when I was attempting to bring my car out of a skid by steering it into the other vehicle.

7. I was driving my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before.

8. I was on my way to the doctor’s with rear-end trouble when my universal joint gave way, causing me to have an accident.

9. As I approached the intersection, a stop sign suddenly appeared in a place where no stop sign had ever appeared before. I was unable to stop in time to avoid the accident.

10. The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.

11. To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the pedestrian.

12. My car was legally parked as it backed into the other vehicle.

13. An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle and vanished.

14. When I saw I could not avoid a collision, I stepped on the gas and crashed into the other car.

15. The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran him over.

16. I saw the slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car.

17. Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.

18. The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

[Smokin' Joe]

"Men admitted to engaging in a range of aggressive, dangerous and even illegal behaviours on our roads, in much higher numbers than women,"

Words fail me...

[Tijeras_Slim]

You talkin' to me?

[Genoa]

Here in the sunny South the women are just as aggressive as the men and twice as crazy.

[Bulldawg Fan]

Young black women closely followed by young white women are by far the fastest drivers around here. Not a doubt in my mind.

[Ditter]

ROTFLMAO

[BuckeyeTexan]

Me too. It’s my road - nobody else has the right to be on it.

;-p

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

It's OK lady study-leader, you can go to mainland europe. Lots of effeminate, hand-drooping males there, who drive 2 miles under the speed limit and stop when a column of ants is crossing the road.

Hmmm.... When I was in the Army we used to say that German cars only had two speeds, ON and OFF. In my experience, Europeans and Brits, of both sexes, both in the USA and at home, are borderline reckless drivers at the best of times. They seem to take out all their pent up aggression behind the wheel. They really need the NFL over there, bad.

[dfwgator]

Lots of effeminate, hand-drooping males there, who drive 2 miles under the speed limit and stop when a column of ants is crossing the road.

"...and they drove with pride..."

[GOP_Lady]

Hey, there Ditter. Hubby hates to drive me (but he always does) because I constantly tell him how to do it because he drives like such an old lady. :-)

[screaminsunshine]

Put govenors on their golf carts.

[mamelukesabre]

This is written about australia. Clearly american males are much better drivers than the australian men. every american male knows that a woman behind the wheel is a menace.

[LostInBayport]

Male drivers are twice as likely to ignore speed limits than the fairer sex and more likely to seek revenge when they feel wronged by other drivers, according to the study by insurer AAMI.

Yes. And we sometimes combine the two...I feel wronged whenever I'm stuck behind someone driving below the speed limit and I feel the need to seek revenge, or at least pass them at the first opportunity.

[HIDEK6]

Young black women closely followed by young white women are by far the fastest drivers around here. Not a doubt in my mind.

And they tailgate and think they always have the right of way.

Lok crosseyed at them and they'll flip you off, too, not that that's unacceptable, mind you.

[cripplecreek]

I don’t drive like an old lady or anything but I am a patient driver. I just complain a lot behind the wheel.

[Ditter]

HA..... Mine has given up trying to drive me anywhere. I have to be pretty sick to give up the wheel.

In fact my two main [rules of life] are, never relinquish the keys to the vehicle AND never pass up an opportunity to pee. Rule number one may have evolved because of rule number two. he he

[GOP_Lady]

I think I should have used you term “patient driver” instead of “old lady” when referring to the hubby. :-)

[GOP_Lady]

:-) LOL

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Sounds like another “men are evil and masculinity must be eradicated!” article to me.

I’ll be the first to admit that I drive more aggressively than my wife, but OTOH I have never had any serious accidents on the road either. My only at-fault was when I rolled forward at 2mph at a metering light and bumped the car in front of me; no damage but unfortunately I did it right in front of a CHP. It was a lapse in concentration on my part.

[cripplecreek]

I think I should have used you term “patient driver” instead of “old lady” when referring to the hubby. :-)

It's the politically correct thing to say.

[phatus maximus]

In other news, sun rises in east, sets in west...

[Hot Tabasco]

My nephew claimed the driverside airbag deployed causing him to lose control of his mom's car, jump a curb, run into a neighbor's mailbox and smash over a large boulder screwing up the front wheel drive and suspension. His sister, about 15 at the time and who was SUPPOSED TO BE sitting in the passanger seat was uninjured. (only a parent would believe that story)

This is same newphew who, while I was out to dinner with his parents, took my sports car out for a joy ride while we were gone. (I set my trip odometer to 0 when I arrived at their house. HeHeHaHe....)

And it was the same nephew who decided to take his jeep offroading at about 2 a.m. with his buddies in an area where you're not supposed to be offroading. He got the jeep stuck in about 2 - 3 feet of mud, had to walk home and wake his dad so he could return and help get the jeep out. At least he was smart enough to ditch the beer bottles..... Glad I wasn't in that house........

[Hot Tabasco]

I find my biggest problem with aggressive drivers where I live is in the winter. I have a real small car which has very poor traction on snow and ice covered roads so if I'm doing 35 in a 45 I'm really pressing the limit of safety.

Invariabley there will be an SUV or pick-up who is going to ride my rear end attempting to intimidate me to go faster. Ironically, on the news reports following snow falls, all the videos of traffic accidents where collisions have occured or drivers flying off the roads have involved these very same SUV's and pick-ups......

[Balding_Eagle]

I think the men meant ‘Bragged’, not admitted. No men would ‘admit’ to such.

[Balding_Eagle]

"And while it has long been suggested that men take greater risks than women, this research clearly shows that men are themselves a greater risk on our roads."

This simply confirms what I've said for years, women are far more willing to trade freedom away for safety.

That's (generally) why a woman president isn't a good idea.

[Ditter]

You drive a very small car that has poor traction on ice and snow and you blame SUV’s for your lack of safety? HUH?

[Hot Tabasco]

you blame SUV’s for your lack of safety? HUH?

Reread my statement! I said I drive within my range of safety and its the SUV's and pick-ups who ride my ass trying to force me to drive faster ..........

So tell me Ditter, where do hail from?

[Isabel C.]

Colliding with a stationary object is usually unavoidable—it can’t dodge!

By definition, a collision can only occur between two moving objects.

[Ditter]

They CAN'T make you drive faster if you don't want to do it. Dealing with tailgaters is the easiest of all obnoxious drivers. Just slow down, they aren't going to ram you, make them go around. The worst that can happen is they will flip you the bird.

[Hot Tabasco]

you blame SUV’s for your lack of safety

And for the record Ditter, 2 weeks ago following another all night snow storm, the gal who cuts my hair and who drives a sedan, had an SUV who was tailgating her (like they do to me) rear ended her when she stopped at a stoplight and the SUV slid into her..........

[Apercu]

Drivers on cell phones of any age are a danger to all - especially cyclists & pedestrians.

[Hot Tabasco]

They CAN'T make you drive faster if you don't want to do it.

What did I say?

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Nothing pisses me off more than when I’m doing 80 in the fast lane, giving the car in front of me his space by not riding his tail, then some idiot comes up on the right and cuts me off to get between us (so he can do 80 in the fast lane in front of me instead of behind me). Whenever possible, I’ll refuse to let him in.

Is that considered “road rage”?

[Arrowhead1952]

People with cell phones are more dangerous on the road. They tend to either slow down drastically or speed up and weave in and out of lanes.

[Feckless]

All of this may be true and apply to me but if that b%&#h wasn’t in the fast lane doing 10 mph under the posted speed with a cell phone glued to her ear I might feel bad about it. It should be legal to shoot these dullards.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Road rage? Nah. Left-lane vigilantism? Possibly, but probably not if you’re driving over the posted speed limit.

It’s the people who insist that I drive the speed limit in the left lane by not moving over. No, I don’t tailgait ... but if you see me coming up fast ... get out of the dang way ... it’s the law too.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

If there’s open road ahead of me, it’s all yours. I’ll be out of your way long before you have to think about slowing down.

It’s when there’s a line of traffic as far as the eye can see in front of me and we’re all doing 70-80 and making decent time that it infuriates me. The space between me and the car in front of me is there for the safety of myself, that driver and everyone around us, not to be an opening for some idiot who thinks he save time by cutting everybody off.

Left-lane vigilantism... that’s a good term for it.

[widdle_wabbit]

“It’s the people who insist that I drive the speed limit in the left lane by not moving over. No, I don’t tailgait ... but if you see me coming up fast ... get out of the dang way ... it’s the law too.”

Some highways are such that the law allows, some vehicles, (Tractor Trailers, (or all), to drive in the fast lane and stay there. For example, Hwy 89 between Cordez Junction and Phoenix.

Be careful to not blow a gasket and then be found to be in the wrong.

I pulled over a LEO to ask that he ticket the rig who was hogging the fast lane and was told they can do so legally on some roads.