We all seem to think that we’re the best drivers. Even if we have an accident or near miss it’s always someone else’s fault, or the other car came out of nowhere, or we just didn’t see that speed camera obscured by the tree branches…!!
According to the RAC, there are 38.7 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain, but which drivers can legitimately claim to be the best in the country? Automotive retailer Peter Vardy wanted to dig a little deeper, so they conducted a survey of 2,000 people which asked drivers to rate themselves and the ability of others, as well as querying them on their history of committing offences on the road.
Volvo and Suzuki drivers are the UK’s safest behind the wheel, but who are better – men or women? When it comes to the age-old debate about whether men or women are the better drivers, will the results reveal the definitive answer?
Car Model drivers
According to the research what you drive predicts how safe you are. Drivers of Suzuki and Volvo cars are the best behaved on our roads, with
75% of them boasting clean licences. Vauxhall drivers come third in that category, with 69%, while those who drive grey Vauxhalls come top of the class overall, having accrued the fewest penalty points on average.
At the other end of the scale are Ford drivers, with only 55% of those having managed to maintain a points-free licence. Perhaps justifiably, Vauxhall and Suzuki drivers rate their respective abilities as 7.8 and 7.5 out of 10, while Volvo owners do not think much of their fellow road users, rating other drivers’ competence behind the wheel as a measly 3.8.
Men v women
There can be no doubting most men’s confidence in their own driving ability, so unsurprisingly the survey revealed that the average man rated himself as 7.25 out of 10 when behind the wheel.
Women, by contrast, scored themselves at just 5.87, even though their male counterparts are 10% more likely to have been caught speeding.
However, according to the research, women have a greater tendency to be caught driving while disqualified (15% compared to 2% for men) and are more likely to be caught without car insurance (13% v 4%).
Keeping it clean north of the border
The study showed that those living in Scotland’s two major cities are setting the example for the rest of the UK to follow. Drivers in Edinburgh are in pole position, with 66.7% boasting a clean driving licence while those in Glasgow came a close second on 63.6%.
At the opposite end of the table are the residents of Sheffield, with only one in five owning a points- free licence, despite rating themselves at an average of 7.6 out of 10.
Edinburgh drivers are perhaps too modest in assessing their own abilities, rating themselves at 6.4 while those living in Norwich seemingly have a high opinion of their skills at 8 out of 10.
Safety is paramount
Statistics from the Department for Transport show that there were 1,782 deaths and more than 160,000 total casualties on Britain’s roads in 2018. Those numbers are both down on the previous year, but it’s crucial that drivers continue to take great care of themselves and other road users whenever they get in their car.
As Peter Vardy’s Digital Marketing Manager, Claire Rogan says:
“Taking proper due care and attention behind the wheel should always be at the forefront of our minds when in control of a car, so it is surprising to see our research indicate that over half of British drivers have been penalised for driving offences. Whether you have just passed your test, or have been driving for years, it is important to not allow your own perception of your driving skills to cloud your judgement. The research shows that, on average, UK drivers perceive their own driving skill level as higher than those around them, which when combined with the number of drivers admitting to having penalty points on their licence, indicates that we may not be quite as attentive behind the wheel as we’d like
to think.”
