Believe it or not, Saudi males show men are worst drivers than women! Now there are men out there who think that they are better drivers than women. And maybe they are….
But when it comes to male vs female drivers, the prevailing stereotype is that women are worst drivers than men. However, statistics reflect otherwise.
But regardless of the statistics and the fact that men pay more for car insurance, both men and women hold on to the above stereotype.
“In turn, these interactions are influenced by expectations based on prior experience “and a set of common stereotypical expectations that drivers have concerning the behavior of male and female drivers.”
Male Driver #1
Most men pride themselves on being able to do lots of things better than women. But when it comes to driving, the fact is, males and females get into fender benders. The accident statistics of insurance companies bear that out.
Why we chose Saudi Arabia?
Well, for the following reasons:
- An extremely large population of male drivers
- Only male drivers prior to June 2018
- To debunk the prevailing stereotype, if the stereotype is true, the road traffic accidents (RTAs) should be low.
Males vs Females Accident Rate
According to the National Highway Safety Administration “men cause 6.1 million accidents per year and women cause 4.4 million per year.
According to AllenandAllen.com, “Men are more likely to die in a car accident than women.” In addition, statistics suggest that men get into fatal accidents twice as often as women.
Now we are not suggesting that men are not good drivers. Far be it from us. Some men are good drivers, and some women are good drivers.
However, there are certain things that a “good” driver would not do. But that’s another article altogether.
“The problem with male drivers in general is primarily that they think they’re better drivers than they actually are. I was like that but as a company car driver took advanced driver training which I thought was only going to prove how good I was. I learned a big lesson. This overconfidence in ability, plus impatience is what leads to too many accidents.“
Male driver #2
Overall, statistics show that males get into more accidents than females do. That’s one reason why males have a higher insurance rate. Insurance companies are not about losing a ton of money on accident claims.
Why Saudi Males Show Men are Worst Drivers
Well, prior to June 2018, only the men drove in Saudi Arabia. Females were banned from driving and that ban was only lifted in June 2018.
Given the stereotype that men are “better” drivers than women, it’s expected that Saudi Arabia’s road traffic accidents (RTAs) should be low since there were only male drivers.
However, that’s not the case.
Fact: Only men were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia until June 2018.
Think about it. If women are worse drivers than men, then it stands to reason that a country with no female drivers should have an excellent driving record, given the stereotype. Well, at least we think so.
However, Saudi Arabia has one of the worst records worldwide regarding traffic accidents.
Even though women are permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia, there are still numerous hurdles to navigate before they start driving.
But whether men are better drivers than women, Saudi males show that men are the worst drivers.
Saudi Arabia Road Traffic Accidents Record
From a list of 25, Saudi Arabia is ranked 23rd on the list of countries with the most car accidents (Worldatlas.com).
It’s not the country with the most traffic accidents as Libya, Iran and a few others have that title.
In fact, the number one killer in Libya is road traffic accidents (RTAs). However, RTAs are the third-leading cause of death in Iran. According to Unicef.org, “the rate of road accidents in Iran is 20 times more than the world’s average.”
Realiran.org suggests that “women in Iran are simply better drivers than men drivers.” The reason offered for this is that quite a number of male drivers are young, impatient and are not disciplined while on the road.
In Saudi Arabia, traffic accidents are the second leading cause of death among males.
According to Stepfeed.com, “A car accident happens every minute on average in Saudi Arabia.” That’s more than 460,000 crashes per year. Keep in mind that before June 2018, there were no female drivers in Saudi Arabia.
Although a decrease in accidents has been recorded in 2018, according to Dr. Nhan Tran (Unintentional Injury Prevention coordinator at the World Health Organization), “Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of road deaths in the world, with 28 people dying for every 100,000.”
Stronger speeding restrictions was one of the recommendations to deal with this issue.
“Between 1971 and 1997; 564,762 people died or were injured in road traffic accidents, a figure equivalent to 3.5% of the total population in Saudi Arabia. Over 65% of accidents occur because of vehicles travelling at excess speed and/or drivers disobeying traffic signals.”
Science Direct
“Between 2006 and 2016, 78,487 people died from car accidents” in Saudi Arabia.”
Reckless Driving
“Mike Dreznes, executive vice president of the International Road Federation, told Arab News that the main cause of accidents in the Kingdom was reckless driving.” In 2016, car accidents were responsible for the deaths of 9,031 people in Saudi Arabia. The average was 25 deaths per day and one death per hour.
Between the years 2015 to 2016, the number of accidents went from “518,000 to 533,000, causing over 38,000 injuries.” The average was 4.5 injuries per hour and 103 injuries per day. Keep in mind that these are all male drivers, as women were only allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia in June 2018.
According to Who.int.com, “the risk of dying in a road traffic crash is more than three (3) times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries.” However, this is not the case with Saudi Arabia, as it falls within the high-income level category.
Speeding Does Not Make You a Good Driver
Men are more risk-takers, and as such, they are more likely to get into an accident.
That might seem like a hard pill to swallow for some guys since, for some men, nothing is ever their fault. Some men prefer to blame everyone else instead of taking responsibility for their actions.
But who can these Saudi men blame for their car accidents when there were no female drivers before June 2018? The camel riders? The roads? They might very well want to blame the road.
However, here’s the thing. If you know the road is horrible, you should negotiate it with due care and diligence as a good driver.
No one is immune to getting into a fender bender. But speed has been noted as a significant issue with regard to traffic accidents. Your attitude on the road can also make a difference.
Speeding and disobeying traffic signals won’t make you a better driver. But they can contribute to you being injured or dead since these factors facilitate a higher probability of an accident.
