Drinking and Driving: Women, Be Careful!
A VroomGirls study shows men and women are not alike when it comes to drinking and driving. A cautionary tale for New Year’s Eve.
Women should be wary of driving after drinking even lightly this New Year’s Eve, according to a study of nationwide car accident statistics conducted by VroomGirls.
The study showed that women drivers involved in fatal car crashes after drinking were 7% more likely than men to have blood-alcohol levels at or below 0.08% – the most common legal limit. About 19.4% of women drivers who were drinking before fatal car crashes had blood-alcohol levels at or below the 0.08% standard, vs. about 18.1% for men.
Overall, male drivers were far more likely than women to be involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes – 17.5% of fatal accidents involving male drivers were alcohol related vs. 9.5% involving female drivers.
VroomGirls reviewed gender differences in 2011 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Among other findings in the VroomGirls study:
– Women drivers were also less likely to be involved in drug-related fatal cashes – 5.3% of fatal accidents involving male drivers were drug related, vs. 4.3% involving female drivers.
– Women were less likely to be speeding when driving in a fatal car crash – 31.7% of fatal accidents of male drivers involved speeding, vs. 24.1% of female drivers
– Women drivers were far more likely to be involved in fatal wrecks involving other vehicles – 54.5% of fatal crashes with female drivers involved another car, vs. 40.4% of male-driver crashes. Conversely, 59.1% of male-driver crash wrecks did not involve a collision with another vehicle.