Women drivers safer than men if you ask the police

Dubai: Men are far more dangerous drivers than women, according to statistics compiled by Dubai Police.

Numerical data from last year shows that the number of dangerous traffic accidents caused by men was 10 times higher than women and that there were far more fatalities as a result of accidents caused by men as well.

Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of the Traffic Department in Dubai Police, said female drivers caused 126 dangerous traffic accidents, which led to the death of eight people last year.

That compares to 1,299 accidents caused by men that caused 186 deaths and caused severe injuries to 155 people

“Women caused four per cent of the total number of deaths [in accidents] last year. They injured 180 people including eight with serious injuries,” Brigadier Al Mazroui said.

While men are more dangerous drivers due to a tendency for speeding, recklessness or stunt driving, women generally fall foul of the law because they tend to get distracted while driving thus endangering themselves and others on the road around them, police said.

According to the new traffic law by the UAE Ministry of Interior, female drivers who are caught applying makeup or brushing their hair while driving will be fined Dh800 with four black points against their driving licence.

General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, director of the UAE Federal Traffic Council, said that women putting on makeup while driving is no minor offence. “This violation would be considered as serious one as driving in a dangerous manner. Applying makeup or combing hair while driving is more dangerous than using mobile phones,” he said.