Citation

Romano EO, Kelley-Baker T, Voas RB. Transp. Res. Circular 2009; (E-C132): 18-23.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite significant progress in traffic safety during the past decades, motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) remain a major source of injury. Of the many factors the literature recognizes as contributing to the likelihood of MVCs, gender is one. Although men have long been recognized as holding the lead in MVCs, women are closing the gap. Questions regarding the extent, characteristics, and determinants of such involvement have arisen. The picture depicting increasing female involvement in MVCs is still blurred. There is strong evidence that increased crash exposure explains a sizable portion of this trend. Some other evidence, however, suggests that changes in attitudes toward risk cannot be ignored as explanatory factors for such a trend. In this study, the authors first briefly review the vulnerability of female drivers to fatal crashes and how the involvement of female drivers in those crashes has evolved over time. They compare this evolution against that of male involvement in fatal crashes. Then, they examine more closely how the vulnerability of female drivers varies across states. Special focus is devoted to young female drivers, a group postulated to be increasingly at risk of involvement in MVCs.