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Do Girls Speed More Than Boys?
The Wall Street Journal ^ | May 5, 2010 | Josph B. White and Anjali Athavaley

Posted on 05/05/2010 11:37:57 PM PDT by myknowledge

Some big auto insurers are raising the rates they charge to cover teenage girls, reflecting the crumbling of conventional wisdom that young women are more responsible behind the wheel.

In a survey of teenage drivers, Allstate Insurance Co. found that 48% of girls said they are likely to drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. By comparison, 36% of the boys admitted to speeding. Of the girls, 16% characterized their own driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005. And just over half of the girls said they are likely to drive while talking on a phone or texting, compared to 38% of the boys.

The results were "a surprise to many people," says Meghann Dowd of the Allstate Foundation, an independent charitable organization funded by Allstate which sponsored the survey.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: driving; speeding
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To: myknowledge

The real speeder in my family is my sister.

But I will say this. I have young boys, and I think parents sit on boys a little harder in this, because they know boys think a little less about consequences.

I think they worry more about girls texting and gabbing, and so emphasize that.


21 posted on 05/06/2010 1:19:26 AM PDT by I still care (I believe in the universality of freedom -George Bush, asked if he regrets going to war.)
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To: myknowledge

Tailgaters are generally women. (more pots and pans coming)


22 posted on 05/06/2010 1:25:46 AM PDT by Need4Truth (the just shall live by faith.)
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To: myknowledge
Some big auto insurers are raising the rates they charge to cover teenage girls,

Here's the real answer, and all you guys up to now fell for some kind of discussion . The real question was by Warren Buffet to his minions: "How can we squeeze the public for even more money?" " We'll just say..."

23 posted on 05/06/2010 2:31:09 AM PDT by gusopol3
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To: myknowledge

Men do aggressive things, women do wacky things.

Both can kill you.


24 posted on 05/06/2010 2:54:41 AM PDT by Fresh Wind ("...a whip of political correctness strangles their voice"-Vaclav Klaus on GW skeptics)
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To: myknowledge

Sadly, both my kids drive MUCH too fast.

One boy, one girl.


25 posted on 05/06/2010 3:21:20 AM PDT by Carley (WE CAN SEE NOVEMBER FROM OUR HOUSE)
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To: myknowledge

They sure as hell tailgate more.


26 posted on 05/06/2010 3:34:47 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: Need4Truth

No pots and pans from me. Women tailgate far more. It’s their lack of spatial cognizance. They just keep going faster till something slows them down - like the car in front.


27 posted on 05/06/2010 3:38:06 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: myknowledge
I saw a bumper sticker the other day, " Honk if you <3 Jesus, Text while driving if you want to meet him."

28 posted on 05/06/2010 4:45:51 AM PDT by SouthDixie (The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age.)
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To: myknowledge

I suspect the girls were just more honest than the boys in this survey.


29 posted on 05/06/2010 4:47:24 AM PDT by tioga
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To: All

they’re too busy smoking, texting, talking on the phone, putting on make-up and drinking coffee to actually pay attention enough to notice that they are either drifting into other lanes or going too slow.


30 posted on 05/06/2010 4:55:01 AM PDT by newnhdad (The longest of journeys begins with one step.)
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To: Need4Truth

I have a long but pleasant commute on rural roads. By far the most aggravating is the tailgating female on a cell phone waiting for an opportunity to pass. Happens far more frequently than men.


31 posted on 05/06/2010 4:58:28 AM PDT by Lando Lincoln (Reconciliation happens in November!)
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To: gusopol3

“How can we squeeze the public for even more money?”

I want to know when Obama is going to “reform” auto insurance so that boys don’t have to pay 40% higher premiums than girls? It’s not FAIR! Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!


32 posted on 05/06/2010 4:58:29 AM PDT by DrC
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To: dixiechick2000

One of the best compliments I have ever received is when my brother told me I drove like a guy.

Plus give me a stick shift anyday.....hard to text, put on makeup,drink coffee etc when constantly being connected to your driving experience


33 posted on 05/06/2010 4:59:18 AM PDT by vis a vis
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To: James C. Bennett

Binary, I like that. I refer to my wife as a digital driver. The gas is ON or OFF. The brake is ON or OFF. She also has apparently replaced the two-second rule with the two-foot rule. On the rare occassions I do ride with her, I keep looking for my driver’s ed brake pedal on the passenger side.


34 posted on 05/06/2010 5:05:03 AM PDT by tnlibertarian
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To: myknowledge

In my 120+ highway miles a day, I see more women talking on cell phones while driving than not. However, kids (male and female aged 18ish-25ish) are often the worst drivers, living in the left lane while not passing and swerving like they were drunk, while people with political campaign bumper stickers (both right and left), oddly enough, tend to stay in the right lane under the speed limits.

Folks with union bumper stickers (usually huge pickups) are the ones going 20+ over the speed limit and will ride up on your a**, even if you have traffic in front of you. It’s so tempting to hit the brakes at times.


35 posted on 05/06/2010 5:06:22 AM PDT by RabidBartender
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To: tnlibertarian

lol


36 posted on 05/06/2010 5:07:43 AM PDT by vis a vis
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To: RabidBartender
I look at it from a psychological/feminist perspective:

In life overall, women are disempowered, in that they can't do all the things men can do. This frustrates and angers them. To express their anger and hostility in a public setting would most likely get their butt kicked. Thus, when they get behind the wheel and are protected by steel, they are able to express their anger and hostility overtly with absolutely no consequences (unless there is an accident or they get pulled out of the car at a stoplight). I see it every day, and can oftentimes predict their crazy maneuvers ahead of time.

I don't say this to demean women, but rather throw it out there because it has helped me avoid accidents in the past.

37 posted on 05/06/2010 5:21:53 AM PDT by I Buried My Guns (Novare Res!)
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To: myknowledge

If you were to compare my teen driving years with my husband’s, I definitely had a heavier foot, but he had more accidents. Once, he had to have a friend pull his 4x4 out of the Mississippi River for trying to drive on a sandbar???? lol


38 posted on 05/06/2010 6:39:26 AM PDT by TNdandelion
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Comment #39 Removed by Moderator

To: myknowledge
I have a 40 mile commute each way daily to Little Rock on the interstate and have traveled it for 30 years. By and large, I'd say I see more young women than men driving in an unsafe and dangerous manner, from driving far above the 70 mph speed limit, to tailgating (especially both at same time), to distracted driving from applying makeup (especially eyeliner doing 80mph just 10 feet behind the car in front of them), fixing hair, texting, yakking on the cellphone, etc.

That's not to say there's not a fair share of young males that drive equally stupidly, but volume-wise young females make my drive much more dangerous, driving with almost a sense of entitlement that says get out of my way because I'm female. (flame suit on) - OB1

40 posted on 05/06/2010 7:17:14 AM PDT by OB1kNOb (When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson)
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