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Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Men 'more likely to have driving convictions'

05/03/2010

Men are more likely to have a motoring conviction than women, according to the AA.

But the proportion of both sexes committing offences is on the rise, a study of more than a million of the group's policyholders suggests. Twenty per cent of men have a current conviction, up from 17% a decade ago, while for women the proportion is now 15%, having risen from 11%.

Of men, 25-34-year-olds are the most likely (23.1%) to have a conviction, while among women the 35-44 age group contains the greatest proportion (17.9%) of offenders.

The AA suggests that one of the reasons for this difference in the sexes is that, on average, men put in more car miles than women each year - giving them more opportunity to commit offences.

Overall, the proportion of drivers who have a current conviction for a driving offence has risen from 14% to 18% over the last decade, the group said.

Speeding is by far the most common offence - accounting for 85% of the total convictions - while the second most common (9%) is jumping traffic lights. Drink-driving accounts for 2% of convictions, but men are more than twice as likely to be convicted drink-drivers, the research found.

AA car insurance director Simon Douglas said that it is "noticeable that the gap between men and women with convictions is closing".

"More women are becoming car owners, they are driving more often and further and are thus more likely to be involved in accidents - as well as commit driving offences," he added.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has released advice for the safety and comfort of pregnant drivers.

Pointing out that mothers-to-be must by law continue to wear seatbelts, the driving group said that using the device will not harm an unborn baby. It advised wearing a belt's lap strap as low as possible below the "bump", across the hip bone.

IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger, said: "A lot of women don’t like the way belts feel and, without realising the danger, let the shoulder strap or the lap belt ride up into the middle of the abdomen.

"The steering wheel hitting the abdomen is the main danger for pregnant drivers in a collision, and the seatbelt is the only thing stopping the driver flying forward."