Women drivers are from Venus, men from Mars

Men and women may continue to argue about who are the better drivers, but one area where there is a clear difference between the sexes is the type of accidents they have in their cars, according to a new study of over two million accidents.

Research by British car insurance specialist Diamond has found there are certain types of accidents women are more likely than men to be involved in.

The list for women includes accidents in car parks, bumps on roundabouts and prangs at traffic lights.

On the other hand, male motorists are more likely than female motorists to have a head on collision, drive their car up or down an embankment or hit a crash barrier.

Diamond studied data from over two million accidents over five years and found a marked difference between the types of accidents men and women have.

"We hold a vast amount of data on accidents and wanted to see if there was a difference between the sexes. It soon became clear that there was; women tend to be in more accidents at slower speeds, where cars are close together, while men have more high-speed accidents where it is easy to lose control,” said Sian Lewis, managing director of Diamond.

"Our research suggests the way men and women drive is different. Possibly men drive faster and more aggressively than women, while women are more easily distracted than men behind the wheel of car."

In fact, it isn’t just accidents where men and women motorists differ.

There are differences when it come to other claims too; overall women are more likely to have their car broken into and have something inside stolen.

However men are more likely to have their car stolen outright.

Men’s cars are also more likely to catch fire than women’s and they’re more likely to drive through a flood. Men are also more likely than women to claim for fuel contamination.

Sian Lewis continues: "It’s very strange that men’s cars are more likely to catch fire than women’s. I can’t explain why that would happen. But one reason why women are more likely to have their car broken into is perhaps because they’re more likely to leave expensive items like their handbag or sunglasses on show than men."

Types of claims more common among women:
Hitting another vehicle in the rear
Hitting another vehicle from a minor road
Reversed into another vehicle
Collision on roundabout
Collision in car park
Theft from vehicle
Hitting a wall
Hitting a lamp post
Hitting a cyclist

Types of claims more common among men:
Changing lanes and hitting another vehicle
Driving up or down an embankment
Vehicle stolen
Hitting a crash barrier
Hitting an animal
Head of collision with another vehicle
Hitting a tree
Driven through flood
Vehicle caught fire
Fuel contamination