htc***
04-09-2010, 07:02 PM
Do you agree with the debate???
Sex differences in driving
Posted on April 9th 2010 by Jeremy Cato :
And now some fuel for the fiery debate over which is the superior sex when it comes to driving, women or men.
For answers, let’s turn to a new study called Sex differences in driving and insurance risk (http://www.sirc.org/publik/driving.pdf).
Okay, fellas, here’s the good news, the fuel for your egos: The data says women are more likely than men to be involved in car accidents on a per mile driven basis (it’s a U.S. study). Men, apparently, have quicker reflexes and, as a group, have superior spatial perception skills to women.
So now the bad news. When men do get in accidents, they are flat-out dangerous compared to women. Men are far, far more likely (by 50-100 per cent) to be in crashes involving loss of life.
Men are dangerous for a host of reasons. As a group, we tend to ignore the law, we engage in risk-taking behaviour more readily than women, we drink and drive more frequently, and we’re more aggressive.
Men, the research suggests, are biologically wired to be sensation loving thrill-seekers. Thus, some people now have the ammunition to argue that men have not evolved adequately to be allowed to drive on public roads. Perhaps in 10,000 or 20,000 years certain men should be given a chance at a driver’s licence, but not yet, not now.
Some highlights:
* Researcher Jennifer Schwartz found that in 2004, more than four times more men than women were arrested for drunk driving.
* Fran H. Norris, B. Alex Matthews and Jasmin K. Riad found men less likely to obey traffic laws than women.
* D. Parker and S.G. Stradling found men far more likely to run red lights, tailgate, drive drunk and race for pink slips.
* Dana Yagil tend to skeptical about the necessity of traffic laws, while women tend to see them as "just and necessary."
The most interesting part of this research survey has to do with why men are such disastrous drivers. In a nutshell, we’re unevolved.
Anthony N. Doob and Alan E. Gross found that men are three times more likely to honk their horns than women. We also make rude gestures and verbally abuse other drivers far more often than women. Men are just more aggressive and from this the conclusion is that we’re hairy, mouth-breathing knuckle-draggers.
The daredevil in men is also a problem. Various studies show men are more likely to die in accidents involving risky behaviour and we sure to like drinking a lot of booze, too. And we drive fast. M.L. Chipman, C.G. MacGregor and A.M. Smiley found men drive 50 per cent greater distances than women, but spent just 30 per cent more time doing so.
Men, the report hypothesizes, evolved to have certain aggressive, risky behaviours in order to survive as hunters and gatherers in a dangerous, uncivilized world. Our speed and brawn allowed us to survive when the world was a harsh place, but these "strengths" are weaknesses on civilized roadways where cooperation is at a premium.
Leda Cosmides and John Tooby describe the male evolutionary experience as "a camping trip that lasted an entire lifetime, and this way of life endured for most of the last 10 million years."
Perhaps one day we men will put down our spears, wipe our hairy chins, and pay attention to our driving. But to do so, we’ll need to overcome millions of years of evolution – or, as I am sure many women will argue, our lack of it.
http://autos.sympatico.ca/Jeremy-Cato-Blog/3712/sex-differences-in-driving
Sex differences in driving
Posted on April 9th 2010 by Jeremy Cato :
And now some fuel for the fiery debate over which is the superior sex when it comes to driving, women or men.
For answers, let’s turn to a new study called Sex differences in driving and insurance risk (http://www.sirc.org/publik/driving.pdf).
Okay, fellas, here’s the good news, the fuel for your egos: The data says women are more likely than men to be involved in car accidents on a per mile driven basis (it’s a U.S. study). Men, apparently, have quicker reflexes and, as a group, have superior spatial perception skills to women.
So now the bad news. When men do get in accidents, they are flat-out dangerous compared to women. Men are far, far more likely (by 50-100 per cent) to be in crashes involving loss of life.
Men are dangerous for a host of reasons. As a group, we tend to ignore the law, we engage in risk-taking behaviour more readily than women, we drink and drive more frequently, and we’re more aggressive.
Men, the research suggests, are biologically wired to be sensation loving thrill-seekers. Thus, some people now have the ammunition to argue that men have not evolved adequately to be allowed to drive on public roads. Perhaps in 10,000 or 20,000 years certain men should be given a chance at a driver’s licence, but not yet, not now.
Some highlights:
* Researcher Jennifer Schwartz found that in 2004, more than four times more men than women were arrested for drunk driving.
* Fran H. Norris, B. Alex Matthews and Jasmin K. Riad found men less likely to obey traffic laws than women.
* D. Parker and S.G. Stradling found men far more likely to run red lights, tailgate, drive drunk and race for pink slips.
* Dana Yagil tend to skeptical about the necessity of traffic laws, while women tend to see them as "just and necessary."
The most interesting part of this research survey has to do with why men are such disastrous drivers. In a nutshell, we’re unevolved.
Anthony N. Doob and Alan E. Gross found that men are three times more likely to honk their horns than women. We also make rude gestures and verbally abuse other drivers far more often than women. Men are just more aggressive and from this the conclusion is that we’re hairy, mouth-breathing knuckle-draggers.
The daredevil in men is also a problem. Various studies show men are more likely to die in accidents involving risky behaviour and we sure to like drinking a lot of booze, too. And we drive fast. M.L. Chipman, C.G. MacGregor and A.M. Smiley found men drive 50 per cent greater distances than women, but spent just 30 per cent more time doing so.
Men, the report hypothesizes, evolved to have certain aggressive, risky behaviours in order to survive as hunters and gatherers in a dangerous, uncivilized world. Our speed and brawn allowed us to survive when the world was a harsh place, but these "strengths" are weaknesses on civilized roadways where cooperation is at a premium.
Leda Cosmides and John Tooby describe the male evolutionary experience as "a camping trip that lasted an entire lifetime, and this way of life endured for most of the last 10 million years."
Perhaps one day we men will put down our spears, wipe our hairy chins, and pay attention to our driving. But to do so, we’ll need to overcome millions of years of evolution – or, as I am sure many women will argue, our lack of it.
http://autos.sympatico.ca/Jeremy-Cato-Blog/3712/sex-differences-in-driving