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Research Shows That Impaired Drivers Are Mostly Men


by Dona Roma


Impaired Driving drivers are mostly men, and, as a result, men will pay more for car insurance. For example, studies from the US Department of Transportation, as well as insurance companies, indicate that men are three times as likely to be cited for reckless driving than women. In spite of statistical disadvantages, men may still lower their car insurance premiums, by following a few simple tips.

Males, in short, have poor driving statistics. Men are twice as likely as women to receive citations for signal and stop sign violations, failure to yield, and seat belt violations. Also, those violations received by men are more likely to produce accidents than traffic violations by women. When involved in court cases which involve car accident liability, men win less often than women, and the accidents they cause tend to cost more. On average, men are involved in six million crashes each year, and 40,000 of those are fatal.

For male drivers, the bad news continues. Men, according to research, are three times as likely as women to be arrested for driving under the influence, and DUIs may double car insurance premiums. Another sobering statistic is that men have a seventy-seven percent higher risk of dying in an accident. Overall, men are cited for reckless driving three times more often than women.

Quite simply, men tend to drive more than women. Professions which involve driving as a means of making a living, such as driving trucks, driving cabs, and traveling sales positions, still tend to be male-dominated fields. Because males drive more, they run a greater statistical risk of being involved in an accident.

The most reckless drivers, according to statistics, are males aged 16-25. Young males, according to statistical results, are more risk-prone than older males, and also more frequently drive high-risk vehicles than older males, or even young females. On average, young males will pay an eighty-five percent higher premium than older males, for car insurance.

African-American males also generally pay more for insurance. On average, African-American men tend to pay up to $800 more annually than their white and Asian counterparts. Insurance companies point to financial data as the cause, because African-American men tend to have lower credit scores, and higher unemployment rates. African-American men also have lower marriage rates, and higher divorce rates, than other men, and also tend to live in more dangerous neighborhoods than other men.

Lower insurance premiums are not impossible for males. In addition to keeping a good driving record, males who want cheaper insurance should choose safe, reliable vehicles, rather than high-risk cars. Within those vehicles, males should install anti-theft and other safety features, to drive down premiums even more.

Statistics show over and over that impaired drivers are mostly men. Males violate traffic law more, and their accidents cost more, and result in more fatalities. For different reasons, males under the age of twenty-five, and African-American males, pay especially high premiums. In spite of these poor statistics, men may take a few useful steps to lower insurance premiums, with no step being more crucial than maintaining a clean driving record.




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