Meadows, Michelle L and Stradling, Stephen G (2000) Are women better drivers than men? In: The Applied Psychologist. Open University Press, Buckingham, pp. 126-146. ISBN 978-0335202843

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Abstract/Description

Are women better drivers than men? As applied social psychologists working in the area of driver behaviour this is a question we often get asked. How should we go about answering it? What - at first sight - appears a straightforward question turns out to require a range of different research tools (Meadows & Stradling, 1995). These include:
• analyses of accident statistics
• questionnaire/survey studies of drivers
• performance studies using driving simulators, instrumented vehicles, videotaped driving behaviour or on-road observation
• statistical procedures for summarising data, and exploring interactions between different variables
• deriving models for organising concepts and findings and subsequently suggesting directions for future research.
In this chapter we shall present information derived from using a number of these tools, mostly analyses of data from accident statistics, surveys and questionnaires, and conclude with a summary model of factors influencing the behaviour of drivers.

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