What demographic gets in the most accidents

The old argument of who are worse drivers—men or women—never seems to die. While car accidents are never fun no matter who is causing them, it’s understandable that you might be curious, so we did a little digging to find out who causes more collisions, and you may be surprised why.

Men or Women?

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, who analyzed 6.5 million car crashes in the United States between 1998 and 2007, women drivers were found to be involved in 68.1% of all crashes. Interestingly, the researchers also found that men were driving 60% of the time overall, while women were only driving 40% of the time. In other words, despite women driving less often, they were more frequently the ones causing accidents. However, this isn’t necessarily saying that women are poorer drivers than men, just that they more commonly get into accidents. So, why might that be?

Who Drives More?

Men. Males drive more miles per year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Federal Highway Administration supports their finding and reports that men drive an average of 16,550 miles each year. Women drive an average of 10,142 miles annually. Ultimately, women drive 30% less than men do on an annual basis. 

Furthermore, women are more likely to have driver’s licenses than men. According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 104.3 million men and 105.7 million women in the U.S. have drivers’ licenses. As you might imagine based on these numbers, there are more unlicensed men driving around than women. Fourteen percent of car crash fatalities involved unlicensed male drivers, whereas the number for women was only 9%. 

Whose Car Crashes Are Deadlier?

Men. The IIHS reports that crashes with male drivers are more “severe.” Another study, done by Scottish researchers in 2004, stated that male drivers caused 94% of accidents that caused death or bodily harm.

The IIHS also reports that males are more likely to speed, drive without seat belts, and drive while intoxicated. Since 1982, speeding has been a contributing factor in driver deaths for men more often than for women. According to the Insurance Information Institute, male drivers were responsible for 37,477 fatal crashes while women were responsible for just 13,502 fatal accidents in 2017. The University of Michigan reports that women drive less yet have a lower fatality rate per mile driven than men.

Women, though, despite being more likely to buy safer (and more gas-economical) cars, are less likely to survive serious car accidents. Why? Female drivers die in more crashes because the men who hit them are more likely to be driving big trucks. According to the IIHS, when cars of the same size hit each other, survival rates among the genders are even. 

Who Gets More Traffic Tickets?

Men. Less than 30% of all traffic violations are given to women drivers. Statistics show, for example, the number of men killed in accidents involving speeding is 3,420, whereas the number of women killed in speeding accidents is just 927.

Who Gets More DUIs?

Men. Since 1982, the number of male drivers that die because they were driving intoxicated and crashed has been “substantially higher” than female drivers, reports the IIHS. In 2010, men were arrested for four out of five of the DUIs that occurred in the US. The disparity is particularly pronounced in male drivers under age 34. This demographic is only 11% of the adult population but accounts for 32% of the DUIs nationwide.

Who Causes More Accidents?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that men cause an average of 6.1 million accidents per year in the US, and women cause 4.4 million accidents per year. Males do 62% of the driving, but only cause 58% of the accidents. So women do cause slightly more accidents per capita than men. A study by the University of Michigan found that female drivers mostly cause “fender benders” (non-injury accidents). Considering that women are safer drivers on every front than men, why might they be involved in more fender benders?

What’s the Cause?

One of the reasons women may find themselves involved in car accidents more often is because since men do more of the driving overall, women may have less experience and may not be as confident behind the wheel. Another reason may be that women are typically shorter than men and may not be able to see as well, especially at intersections. Another study, done by Scottish researchers in 2004, however, stated the opposite; in their research, they found that male drivers caused 94% of accidents that caused death or bodily harm.

Need a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer?

No matter who causes the accidents, they can be devastating. From medical bills to damaged property, you may end up with quite a bit of expense to make up. That’s why car accident lawyers are so helpful—they can help fight for your right to be compensated.

If you’ve been in an accident, Steven Malman at Malman Law should be your first choice. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Age groups that have the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities are children younger than 10 years of age and adults aged 65 and above. About 35 to 40% of the fatalities in these age groups were pedestrian fatalities; twice as much as the average percentage for all age groups (see Share of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and casualties). The youngest age groups, those younger than 10 years of age, also have the highest percentage of pedestrian casualties: 30-40% of the casualties in these age groups were pedestrian casualties.

Cyclist fatalities have the highest share among children between 6 and 14 years of age. About 14% of the fatalities in this age group were cyclist fatalities; twice as much as the average percentage for all age groups. Children between 10 and 14 years of age also have the highest percentage of cyclist casualties: 30% of the casualties in this age group were cyclist casualties.

• Young pedestrians and cyclists
• Elderly pedestrians and cyclists

Young pedestrians and cyclists

Most crashes involving children occur in the late afternoon, when they are either walking back home or playing outside. Several British studies have shown that most of the pedestrian fatalities were running or not paying attention at the time of the crash [45][8][52] In the Netherlands, fatal crashes with children are nearly always with a motor vehicle as crash opponent. More than average crash opponents are: cars for young pedestrians, and heavy vehicles (vans and lorries) for young cyclists. Collisions between cyclists and heavy goods vehicles include the well-known crash scenario where the cyclist is in the blind spot of a lorry turning right (or turning left in left-hand side driving countries).

A study of children's exposure to risk as pedestrians and their rate of involvement in crashes in three European countries [6] found a higher fatality rate among children in Great Britain than among children in France and the Netherlands, although children in Great-Britain spent marginally less time in traffic situations as pedestrians and crossed the road less frequently than children in the other two countries. This study found that these exposure rates alone do not explain the increased fatality rate. It was determined that children in Great Britain spend more time on main roads and busy streets than children in the other two countries, that they cross roads between rather than at intersections, and that they are more likely to be accompanied by other children than by adults. These specific examples of exposure are, in turn, connected with the country's residential and traffic infrastructure and, not least, with typical national habits such as adults accompanying children to school [35].

While all children are vulnerable, some children are more at risk than others. There is some evidence of a gender correlation between road safety behaviour and crash involvement. In the United Kingdom, crash patterns for pedestrians reveal a consistently higher rate of incidence for boys than for girls under age 12. In the 5-11 age group, twice as many boys are likely to be killed or severely injured than girls. In the Netherlands, 64% of the traffic victims under 14 are boys. Teenage male bicyclist fatalities exhibit a similar pattern. Teenage female pedestrians may be at particularly high risk once their exposure is taken into account [56][35].

Elderly pedestrians and cyclists

An important cause of the high fatality rate of older cyclists and pedestrians is the physical vulnerability of elderly people. Since their bones are more brittle and their soft tissue less elastic, they are at higher risk of severe injury, even if the crash forces are the same. At the same time, the elderly have a higher chance of being involved in a crash because locomotive functions deteriorate with increasing years. This deterioration generally consists of slower movement; a decrease of muscular tone, a decrease in fine coordination, and a particularly strong decrease in the ability to adapt to sudden changes in posture (keeping balance). This latter aspect is particularly important for cyclists and pedestrians, but also for public transport users.

Older pedestrians are over-represented in crashes at intersections, particularly those without traffic signals, and being struck by a turning vehicle. Older pedestrians are also over-represented in crashes when they are crossing mid-block sections of roads, particularly on wide multi-lane roads, in busy bi-directional traffic [36]. Pedestrian accidents in which no moving vehicle is involved also occur more frequently among older pedestrians. However, these accidents are not included in the UNECE definition of road accident and are, therefore, heavily under-reported or not included in accident databases at all (see Definition of a traffic-related crash). These include falls when boarding or exiting public transport, falls on footpaths, when stepping off kerbs, and while crossing the road (without being struck by a vehicle). Although injuries resulting from pedestrian falls and other non-collision events are generally not as severe as those where a vehicle is involved, they nevertheless represent a significant cause of trauma for older pedestrians [36].

According to Dutch studies [24], older cyclists are more often involved in crashes with passenger cars than other cyclists. In many of these cases, the cyclist had to cross a multi-lane road. Such incidents (63% of all crashes) occurred particularly inside urban areas (50%), at intersections (19%), and at T-junctions (15%). The latter crashes most often occurred at intersections and T-junctions which were controlled by traffic signs (25%). The difficulties experienced by older cyclists related primarily to manoeuvres such as crossing or turning against the traffic at the intersection. In the majority of these cases, the passenger car was driving on a main road while the cyclist approached from a side road. This crash type resembles the crash type that is over-represented among older car drivers: while turning, the older driver collides with oncoming traffic with right of way on the main road (see Older drivers). Negotiating an intersection clearly represents a "testing of the limits" type of task; it requires a host of age-sensitive functions while simultaneously limiting the usefulness of normal safe driving strategies such as anticipating upcoming events.