Kansas State University Study Examines Gender Differences in Car Crashes

A new study by civil engineers at Kansas State University finds significant gender differences in types, times, and severity of crashes by young drivers of automobiles. The authors examined all motor vehicles crashes in the state of Kansas involving drivers 16 to 24 years of age over a five-year period. Among the gender differences they found are:

* Young women were more likely than young men to be involved in crashes at intersections.

* Young women were more likely than young men to be involved in accidents with pedestrians.

* Young men were more likely than young women to be involved in crashes at night.

* Young men were more likely to be involved in crashes in weekends, while young women were more likely to be in an accident on weekdays.

* Women drivers involved in car crashes were 66 percent more likely than male drivers to be wearing a seatbelt.

Sunanda Dissanayake, a professor of civil engineering and senior author of the study, stated that “these findings show that gender differences do exist in young drivers when it comes to safety.” The authors recommend that transportation professionals “who are developing countermeasures to increase the traffic safety, may need to pay attention to the differences. This might be particularly true when developing education materials for driver training for young/inexperienced drivers.”

Professor Dissanayake is a graduate of the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. She holds a master’s degree from the Asian Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

The article, “Gender Differences of Young Drivers on Injury Severity Outcome of Highway Crashes,” was published in the Journal of Safety Research. It may be accessed here.