• A French road safety campaign challenges the outdated belief that men are superior drivers.
  • Statistics reveal men are responsible for a significantly higher number of fatal accidents and traffic offenses compared to women.
  • The campaign encourages men to adopt safer driving habits often associated with female drivers, aiming to reduce road fatalities.

Remember that outdated stereotype where men were supposedly the superior drivers? Well, France just threw gasoline on those embers of sexism with a new campaign from a road safety association. They’re urging folks to “drive like a woman” – you know, with caution, courtesy, and maybe a healthy dose of risk aversion – in a bid to boost road safety.

The awareness campaign comes from Victimes & Citoyens, a French road safety association. The message they’re trying to convey is that “to stay alive behind the wheel, the best thing for men to do is adopt the same behavior as women.” The group believes that this approach would lead to fewer accidents and reduce the number of people dying on the streets.

More: Male Drivers Are Much More Likely To Drive Distracted Than Females, Study Finds

This bold statement, sure to grab attention from male drivers, is actually backed by data. Recent figures from the French road safety observatory show that men statistically pose a greater risk behind the wheel compared to women.

More specifically, men are responsible for a staggering 84% of fatal accidents in France. They also account for a disproportionate share of serious injuries (75%) and drunk driving incidents (93%) among young drivers. In contrast, women commit far fewer driving offenses and are eight times less likely to be involved in fatal accidents.

French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads

Victimes & Citoyens

Some might argue these statistics are skewed because men make up a larger portion of drivers. However, data reveals women comprise 42% of France’s primary drivers, and older studies show their annual mileage (11,200 km / 6,960 miles) is quite close to men’s (12,500 km / 7,770 miles). This suggests the gender gap in road safety isn’t due to driving frequency.

A series of posters by Victimes & Citoyens can already be found in French metro stations, featuring QR codes for those who want to verify the data and sources online. The campaign also includes a chatbot on X (formerly Twitter) that automatically responds to every tweet using the #femmeauvolant hashtag with relevant data.

Rally driver Michèle Mouton, famous for finishing second in the 1982 WRC championship, shared her thoughts on the new campaign. Speaking to RTL, she said that women tend to be more cautious drivers, citing factors like considering others on the road, less likelihood of drinking and driving, and a stronger sense of self-preservation.

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reveals a similar trend in the U.S. Between 1975 and 2021, male drivers were responsible for a significantly higher number of road fatalities compared to female drivers, as evidenced by the data shown in the chart from IIHS below.

French Campaign Tells Men To ‘Drive Like A Woman’ For Safer Roads
Source: IIHS