Advocacy & Safety - Male Driver Statistics

The rospa.org.uk site says 80% of the drivers that hit cyclists are male. The bicycleaustin.info site says in 90% of the cases in which a pedestrian is hit and killed the driver is male, bicycleuniverse.info says the same thing, I'm guessing the same stat is true of cyclists hit. I recall reading a stat somewhere that most drivers who hit peds or cyclists are males in their 20s and 30s. So you are more likely to get hit by a male driver AND if you're hit by a male driver your less likely to survive it. I tried to add the link but can't, but you can google it.

If you google 'cyclist hit' you will find articles about cyclists that got hit and often they tell the sex and age of the driver.

Why are male drivers the ones usually involved in hitting vulnerable road users (bicycles, pedestrians, motorcyles)? Is it mainly because theres more male drivers on the road?

One word. Testosterone and alcohol. Allright, two words.

^^^ I personally have NEVER seen a young male who
was responsible enuff to drive a car at 16. I was 16 and
drunk when I plowed my Dads brand new car into a tree.
I witnessed that time and again in my high school in the
mid-70's. The common sense synapses just arent firing at
that age.

I'm in that statistic I guess, male, 22, between 20~30 never had an accident in the 5 years I've had my license.

And even though I know this is my own opinion... but I'm probably one of the best drivers out there in Toronto. Quick reactions, Understanding of how my car handles, looking far and wide, or listening to what they teach to you in drivers ed.
Some of the worst drivers we have here are either Asian looking, taxi drivers or irritable mid aged European looking fellas.

I usually don't generalize drivers, but there do seem to be certain classes of drivers who are either reckless, impatient, inattentive, or just generally are a bad driver.

Actuaries would suggest we lock up every male between 15-25.
Of course we'd squelch quite a bit of creativity, but imagine how safe we'd be!

I was a fairly safe driver as a 16 year old. Partially because I'm an involved driver, and partially because I had a big slow land yacht of a Buick station wagon that kept me from going too fast. I'm not surprised that many young guys are involved in accidents because they think they're invincible, they think they know everything, and they need to show off to be cool. That, and the frontal lobe part of the brain (the part that gauges danger mainly) isn't fully developed.

BUT, you can't peg every young male driver with this stereotype. Not all of us are road terrorists with huge egos. Just like AEO, I'd say I easily have a advantage in terms of reaction time.

Oh, and I forgot to add... Stay the hell away from cars with a "Baby on board" tag or sticker. They think that just because they put that thing on, they are allowed to be oblivious to their surroundings and people will always give them the right of way.

I've been cut off many times by people with "Baby on board" tags in their windows. In both car and bike.

I had a couple of minor fender benders and one major wreck (I was rear ended in a Pinto by a Ford Ranchero going 45mph- didn't blow up) all in the first few years of having my license. (17-20) Since then I've been accident and citation free for over 25 years. My insurance company pays me to stay covered by them.


Just like AEO, I'd say I easily have a advantage in terms of reaction time.

I find that by driving at proper speeds and keeping plenty of buffer space, driver reaction time almost never comes into play. I'm not saying this necessarily applies to anyone here, but if you often find your "quick reaction time" saving you from a wreck, you're not driving safely.

I disagree. Reaction time is very important for avoiding accidents. When someone starts drifting into your lane on the interstate because you're in their blind spot, you don't have buffer space. You need to be alert and quick to avoid an accident. Same thing if a kid runs out chasing a ball on a suburban street. You can go as slow as you want, but if someone does something stupid near the limit of your ability to avoid a collision, every fraction of a second is critical in finding a way to prevent it from happening.

... 80% of the drivers that hit cyclists are male. .. I recall reading a stat somewhere that most drivers who hit peds or cyclists are males in their 20s and 30s. ...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/858848934_cdcceebb73.jpg

I find that by driving at proper speeds and keeping plenty of buffer space, driver reaction time almost never comes into play. I'm not saying this necessarily applies to anyone here, but if you often find your "quick reaction time" saving you from a wreck, you're not driving safely.

My reaction time saved me from plenty of possibly fatal accidents.
A guy nearly cut me off on the highway because he didn't signal his intention, lane speeds were about 30km/h of difference. He was just too impatient to go around a big rig.
A red light runner who zipped by 2 secs after the light turned red for him. This intersection has a red light camera installed, but he did it anyways.
Cyclist with no lights, who cut across at the dead of midnight in a poorly lit section of street. He's lucky the police car behind me didn't see that.
Someone making a right turn at a blind intersection, pack of cars, including me had to dodge her, I was at the front of the pack. Honestly they need to put up a "no right on a red" there.
Right turning SUV who shot over the right lane to go into the center lane, where I was trying to pass an oversized dump truck. SUV couldn't see me, but he should have waited for the dump truck to pass. Had to escape into the left turn only lane.
I can keep going on if you want more examples of how quick reaction times helped even if I was going at proper speeds and room. They're not specifically my fault or anything, just poor judgment on the part of others.

I find that by driving at proper speeds and keeping plenty of buffer space, driver reaction time almost never comes into play. I'm not saying this necessarily applies to anyone here, but if you often find your "quick reaction time" saving you from a wreck, you're not driving safely.

+1

In all the places Ive lived and even driving I-95 as much as I have over the past
year I havent found it necassary to rely on reflex's to get me out of a situation
because Ive already avoided them. :D
I cannot recall when an evasive manuever was necassary to avoid a stupid
driver. At this point in my life I know what they are going to do before they do.
Getting old has some advantages :)

it's not just about drivers. It happens to cyclists too. Maybe it's an age thing

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1384/857977241_f164fd1341.jpg

I believe the repetitiveness of all life situations
contributes to the 'older & wiser" cliche.
After a while we grotty oldies know what we are going to
suffer in any situation. I guess thats why we are always grumpy, too !
:roflmao:
I think it would be interesting to see the age breakdown of the people
who contribute to A&S. I would opine you would see some corrolation
between the riding styles and the ages across the board. Younger ones
being the more Alpha-VC/ lane taker variety.

I would not rely on fast reaction speed to bail you out. Human reaction time is amazingly long and far longer than most people think. It takes just about .4 seconds for a message from the brain to get to the fingers or to the feet. At 60 mph, you go 35' before you can possibly react. That does not even include braking distance. There are limits to the speed of transmission of impulses down neurons and being young does not change those limits. Also that is just reacting. It does not include thinking about what to do in response to the emergency. I have found that looking down the road as far as I can (within reason) frequently and figuring out what bone head things people are likely to do and what I will do in response has saved me far more often than reaction speed ever has. Young drivers often get into trouble because they react to emergency situations rather than anticipating emergencies and avoiding them.

Young drivers often get into trouble because they react to emergency situations rather than anticipating emergencies and avoiding them.

Exactly. Plus they often don't have the vehicle handling skills necessary for the maneuvers they attempt.


My reaction time saved me from plenty of possibly fatal accidents.
A guy nearly cut me off on the highway because he didn't signal his intention, lane speeds were about 30km/h of difference. He was just too impatient to go around a big rig.
A red light runner who zipped by 2 secs after the light turned red for him. This intersection has a red light camera installed, but he did it anyways.
Cyclist with no lights, who cut across at the dead of midnight in a poorly lit section of street. He's lucky the police car behind me didn't see that.
Someone making a right turn at a blind intersection, pack of cars, including me had to dodge her, I was at the front of the pack. Honestly they need to put up a "no right on a red" there.
Right turning SUV who shot over the right lane to go into the center lane, where I was trying to pass an oversized dump truck. SUV couldn't see me, but he should have waited for the dump truck to pass. Had to escape into the left turn only lane.
I can keep going on if you want more examples of how quick reaction times helped even if I was going at proper speeds and room. They're not specifically my fault or anything, just poor judgment on the part of others.

These are called close calls, or better still, near hits. All other things being equal, a person with a faster reaction time will have an advantage once placed in a situation where one is needed. The trick is to avoid being in these situations in the first place. It can be done. The safest drivers still have close calls but it is an occasional event, not a regular occurrence. The more close calls you subject yourself to, the more chances you have of ending up in a collision.

I believe the repetitiveness of all life situations
contributes to the 'older & wiser" cliche....I think it would be interesting to see the age breakdown of the people who contribute to A&S. I would opine you would see some corrolation
between the riding styles and the ages across the board...

there is no teacher like experience.

I'd like to see a breakdown, and see how it correlates to posting styles. I'd opine that older may be more careful in responses, but theres no way to say that those that post here would be a decent representation of the populatin as a whole

I was a fairly safe driver as a 16 year old. Partially because I'm an involved driver, and partially because I had a big slow land yacht of a Buick station wagon that kept me from going too fast. I'm not surprised that many young guys are involved in accidents because they think they're invincible, they think they know everything, and they need to show off to be cool. That, and the frontal lobe part of the brain (the part that gauges danger mainly) isn't fully developed.

BUT, you can't peg every young male driver with this stereotype. Not all of us are road terrorists with huge egos. Just like AEO, I'd say I easily have a advantage in terms of reaction time.

As a decrepid 67 year old and European to boot, may I point out to our young driver friends, that the essence of safe driving is not to need quick reaction times. And the reason I cannot remember the last time I did an emergency stop is not because I've reached the early stages of senile decay, but because it was many, many, years ago