Men 11 times more likely than women to be convicted of same driving offences - Scottish Government

Men are 11 times more likely to be caught driving without seatbelts and having vehicle defects when compared to female drivers, according to Scottish Government figures.

There are also eight times as many men penalised for using a mobile phone behind the wheel than women north of the border.

A total of 192 men were guilty of seatbelt offences in 2018-19 compared with just 17 women.

Meanwhile, 1,034 male drivers were convicted of driving a vehicle with defects, while only 94 females fell foul of the law in the same way.

Of those drivers caught using their phone behind the wheel, 616 were men and just 76 women.

According to the recently released road safety statistics¹, male drivers also account for the lion’s share of all other motoring offence categories.

Where dangerous and careless driving is concerned 2,631 men were convicted and only 486 women – more than five to one.

Men were found to be four-and-a-half times more likely to speed, with 7,450 males caught for the offence and 1,617 females collared.

Figures were slightly more evenly matched when driving under the influence of drink or drugs. Even then, 2,752 men were caught compared with 806 women.

• Seatbelt law – how to keep safe and avoid fines
• Mobile phone driving laws – what is and isn’t illegal?
• Dangerous driving – what it is and how to report it

Neil Greig, the policy and research director of the IAM RoadSmart motoring group, said: “It is clear from these figures that when it comes to the ‘Fatal Four’ priority police enforcement areas – drink, speed, seatbelts and mobile phone use – women are far better behaved on the roads than men.

“Although more Scottish men have a driving licence than women – 76% versus 64% – the disparity in offending seems to indicate gender differences behind the wheel.

“What is clear is if more women slipped from the back seat into the driving seat our roads would be a lot safer and less stressful.”

Edinburgh University’s Dr Jessica Hafetz Mirman, an applied psychology and public health lecturer pointed out that men tend to take longer trips than women.

She said: “Men and women also drive different types of vehicles, which can have direct implications for speeding, roll-over risk, and attracting police attention”.

The statistics from Scotland suggest that men could be more likely to lose their licence at a crucial time such as during the coronavirus crisis.

Could you get by without access to your car? Recent RAC research on car dependency found that a third of drivers believe having access to a car is more important than ever during the outbreak.