Traffic compliance effect of more women behind the wheel: Pride or prejudice?

Abstract

Driving offences can cause road accidents with serious outcomes and are a topic where differences in attitudes and behaviour can be found between sexes. While men are more prone to taking risks and, statistically, are involved in a greater number of traffic accidents, even today, sex stereotypes persist with women regarded as worse drivers. To explore the truth behind the myth, this study analyses how the increase in the number of females in the driver census in Spain, could impact the effectiveness of traffic law enforcement in terms of traffic offences recorded by the traffic police (including the main violations such as passive safety feature use, speed limits and drunk driving) while considering a set of control variables related to the quality of infrastructure, legal reforms and other socio-economic attributes. The results point to Spanish women paying closer attention to traffic regulations, behaving more carefully, which should be considered in designing specific preventive policies and road safety awareness strategies.