Men Shun Driving Seat

...But Women Still Prefer Then to Get Behind the Wheel

04 January 2010

Men and motors usually go hand in hand but more than one in ten British men don't drive, new research reveals today*.

It's a fact that will get Top Gear enthusiasts in a tailspin, but 13% of British blokes don't hold a UK driving licence, according to eco car insurance provider, ibuyeco.

The study indicates that many men are in no hurry to learn to drive with nearly a quarter (21%) deciding not to take their test until well into their twenties and a further 6% waiting until their thirties to get behind the wheel. A fifth of men (20%) admit they only drive a car because it's the "done thing".

Despite their shunning of cars, however, women aren't so keen to see their partner take a back seat. Almost half of women (44%) say they'd expect a man to drive with almost a quarter (24%) finding it decidedly odd when a man doesn't. Some women – a small but significant 7% - would even consider their partner to be 'less of a man' if he couldn't drive.

When asked why they put the brakes on learning to drive, a third of men (33%) claim they just don't need to drive while an equal number (32%) said that driving lessons are too expensive. One in ten men (10%) failed their test first time around and decided not to retake it while, perhaps surprisingly, a fifth (20%) admitted they don't actually enjoy driving.

Battle of the sexes

The survey also found that:

• Nearly half of men (44%) believe women to be bad at parking or reversing (more than a quarter of women 26% agree)
• More than a quarter of men (26%) think they are better drivers than women compared to only 5% of women
• As many as 38% of men claim that women are bad at reading maps compared to only 14% of women
• Contrary to popular opinion, 70% don't agree that men never ask for directions

Lucy Bailey, head of ibuyeco, said "Our research shows that times - and men's attitudes to driving - are changing. All the same, it seems that some things never change. The old clichés of men being better drivers still stand and women think it odd if a man can't drive. At ibuyeco, we know that Brits love their cars, so perhaps it's not surprising that our survey has divided the nation – and the sexes!"

*Survey conducted on behalf of ibuyeco by YouGov in November 2009. Total sample size was 2,126 adults. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).