Men are twice as likely to speed as women, research finds

‘Boy racers’ found to be worst behind the wheel

(Getty)

Men are almost twice as likely as women to break the speed limit while driving, according to analysis of more than five billion miles of driving data.

Speeding is one of the biggest causes of deaths on UK roads, accounting for 12 per cent of all fatal accidents.

Telematics insurance firm insurethebox studied customer data across the UK for men and women of all ages from the past five years.

They discovered that in every region and across almost all age brackets, men were more likely to exceed the speed limit than women.

It was "boy racers" who behaved worst - with 17-year-old boys speeding 130 per cent more than girls of the same age.

It is not until they reach their thirties that men begin to take their foot off the throttle, with the difference compared to women drivers dropping to 32 per cent.

On average, men speed 94 per cent more than women, but women in their forties are found to speed two per cent more than their male counterparts.

Insurethebox fits black boxes to cars which tell it about the driver’s speed, the time of day or night they drive, their motorway miles and driving style.

The system, which is out of sight inside the car, uses a sim card to transmit data which is then analysed to see how safely a motorist is driving.

It is designed to help reduce insurance premiums.

Gary Stewart, service manager at insurethebox, said: “Speed is the single biggest contributor to driving risk – and the one thing that every driver has control over.

“Yet it seems to be the biggest differentiator between young women and men driving safely.”

SWNS

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