Car Crashes Caused by Women Increase Alarmingly

Automobile crashes, also called road traffic accidents (RTAs), kill around 1.2 million people worldwide each year and injure about forty times this number. The most known causes in the mind of the general public are drunk driving, women driving recklesslyand hotshots who think they own the streets, especially the young ones and things get worse when two or more factors combine.

A new study shows that some of these may be more than urban myths or misogynistic remarks. The study, led by Virginia W. Tsai MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, showed that over a 10 year period (1995-2004) females began to "catch up" with males in risky behaviors.

This means that, even if the use of the seatbelt has become more frequent for both genders, the increase for women who use it was smaller and the number of accidents caused by women has grown. Other factors have been involved too, like the use of the cellphone and distractions from kids in the back seat.

Quoting Dr. Tsai: "Young females should not be overlooked or underestimated in risky driving habits and involvement in alcohol-related crashes. ED staff should consider the teachable moment when they come across the young person involved in a crash no matter if they are male or female. They are both at considerable risk for serious and fatal crashes especially if there is alcohol involved. While they may be in the ED for a minor crash...the time and conversation the staff may have with them in the ED may save their lives."

Usually males have tended to be associated with alcohol-related crashes and even today, police officers are more prone to pull over and test male drivers with a breathalyser more often than the female drivers. Since more male police officers roam the streets, almost all women, especially the younger ones, have developed "smile applications" which usually work on some of the more "impressionable" agents.