Do women make better drivers than men? UAE youngsters speak out

Reem Fakhri

Are women better drivers than men? This is the question that got men and women in an ongoing debate on which gender is a better drive; until today some of these men and women have not yet settled the score.

 According to an article, “Women commit fewer accidents: Police”, women have caused fewer accidents than men on the road. The statistics according to police reports reveal that in the year 2013, “men have caused 1,381 accidents which resulted in 117 deaths, on the other hand women have caused 144 accidents and 5 deaths.”

These statistics became public to society, and many people had different opinions on this article. We asked four students and one alumnus from the American University of Sharjah to comment on this report and they replied with the following:

Sawsan Horani, 20, Student at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in Biology,

“Women are better drivers because they tend to speed less. You don’t find women racing on the streets, doing dangerous maneuvers as often as men. They take their own sweet time getting to their destinations; men on the other hand, speed a lot and tend to purposely chase down and react negatively to whoever comes in front of them on the road.”

Samar Halloum, 23, Student at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in Architecture,

“I do not think that being a man or a woman matters in how safe they drive.”

Rand Natsheh, 23, Student at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in Architecture,

“I do not think the gender plays a role in determining how good of a driver someone is; however, women tend to be safer and more relaxed while driving.”

Alaa Abu Arshid, 21, Student at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in Electrical Engineering,

“It is not about skills, it’s about reaction in risk situations. Both men and women get the same level of training before they get their driving license. However it seems that men’s reaction in critical situations are better than women because they make better decisions.”

Fares Adi, 23, Fresh Electrical Engineering Graduate from the American University of Sharjah,

“There are bad drivers and good drivers for both genders. There are accidents that happen from both sides. However, women may be classified as better drivers, due to the fact that they follow the rules on the road in a more consistent way than men do.”