Women drivers: A little stress may be a good thing

MEN may love to boast they’re better than women at driving but a survey raises the question of whether they aren’t just better liars or deluded by over-confidence.

For when it comes to admitting what stresses motorists most on the road, women are far more likely to confess that basic manoeuvres turn their knuckles white.

The survey by AA Motor Insurance quizzed more than 21,000 drivers here and found women were two-and-a-half to three times more likely than men to get stressed about changing lanes, overtaking other cars and parallel parking.

Other tasks more likely to make women drivers perspire include reversing between narrow gateposts, overtaking buses or trucks, using multi-storey car parks and driving in an unfamiliar city. In fact, all 13 everyday driving tasks identified in the survey were rated “somewhat stressful” or “very stressful” by more women than men. Only when it came to talking to a traffic garda were the sexes close in stress levels, with 29% of men and 37% of women admitting the experience rattled them.

But even assuming the men answered honestly and are genuinely less fazed behind the wheel, the AA says it doesn’t necessarily make them better drivers — as accident records prove.

Insurance director John Farrell said: “It may be that a little stress is a good thing. Women crash their cars far less than men do. Perhaps the men are a bit over-confident about driving manoeuvres that are genuinely complicated.

“If you are nervous enough to be naturally cautious, that can improve your driving by making you more careful.”

The AA advises motorists to keep their nerves from erupting by staying clear of traffic jams and avoiding getting lost. They should have added: and don’t read surveys about motoring before setting out.