No more jokes about women drivers: ladies outnumber men on U.S. roads

There are more women drivers in the U.S. than men drivers, a study by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute reveals.

More women than men now have driver’s licenses, a fact that transportation researchers say is likely to have safety and economic implications. If current trends continue, the gap will continue to widen, as the share of teenagers and young adults if both sexes is declining, with the decline being greater for young men. The study analyzed gender trends in driver’s licenses between 1995 and 2010.

“The changing gender demographics will have major implications on the extent and nature of vehicle demand, energy consumption, and road safety,” Michael Sivak, co-author of the study, was quoted as saying by the Detroit News. Women are more likely than men to buy smaller, safer and more fuel-efficient cars. Ladies also drive less and have a lower fatality rate per distance driven, Sivak added.

During the 15 years of the study, the share of men aged 25 to 29 years old with driver’s licenses dropped 10.6 percent, while the share of women of the same age with driver’s licenses declined by only 4.7 percent.

Women drivers outnumber male drivers among drivers ages 45 and older and between ages 25 and 29 years old. Male drivers younger than 44 are still slightly more numerous than women of the same age, but that’s because young men outnumber young women in the general population, the study said.