When it comes to safe driving, men and women may still be from Mars and Venus, respectively. According to results of
Only 39 percent of the men surveyed said they believed they are safer drivers than their female counterparts, but 35 percent of men were unsure which gender is a safer driver. Conversely, women took a much more definitive stance—half (51 percent) of those surveyed said they were safer drivers than men, and less than one-fourth (24 percent) reportedly were undecided.
When asked about the technology features they want in their next vehicle, men and women tend to agree, with slightly more women than men (57 percent versus 53 percent) preferring to drive a car with state-of-the-art technology upgrades, including GPS (65 percent versus 61 percent), forward collision warning (60 percent vs. 53 percent) and rear-view cameras (58 percent versus 53 percent), which were the technologies most desired based on their ranking. In addition, more than 80 percent of both men and women queried said they would pay extra to have upgraded technology features in their next car.
Men, however, outshine women in terms of being familiar with the safety-related automotive technologies developed during the past 10 years. In the survey, men were nearly three times (58 percent versus 26 percent) more likely than women to be familiar with electronic stability control, which helps improve steering and prevent accidents and is one of the most significant safety advancements in recent years. Additionally, almost twice as many men as women (24 percent versus 13 percent) recognized the safety benefits of electronic stability control for helping make people safer drivers. (Electronic stability control is included in all new car models as of September 1 this year.)
"Despite the long-standing, good-natured debate between men and women about who is the better driver, one thing that's not debatable is the responsibility drivers have when operating their vehicles," said Bill Moore, president of MetLife Auto & Home. "Safety knows no gender—whether a man or a woman is behind the wheel, an attentive driver remains the most effective deterrent to auto accidents."
