Survey answers the question: Why wasn’t Wilma driving?

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The guys can’t help it. That’s the finding from a study into the tendency of young male drivers to take risks. This academic review is called: ‘Sex Differences in Driving and Insurance Risk’ and it was carried out by a Professor Geoff Beattie, the Dean of Psychological Studies at the University of Manchester, in the U.K. Yes, these figures come from across the pond, but young men are more or less the same the world over.

Professor Beattie says: “Much of the circuitry of the human brain evolved to meet the requirements of societies and cultures very different from our own, those of the hunter gatherer that existed for over 99% of our evolution as a species. Our 21st century skulls contain essentially ‘stone-age’ brains, and this can help to explain the differences between the sexes in terms of their risk-proneness while driving.”

This ‘cavemen in cars’ study was prepared for Esure, the insurance company. An Esure spokesman adds: “There has been very little broad thinking about why young men suffer so much worse accident and conviction rates. This report makes a clear point -- it is not just about skills or enforcement, it’s about teaching young men in particular to overcome natural instincts that have evolved to enjoy speed, danger, risk taking and showing off. It was fine for cavemen but not for the modern car driver. This is a serious point that hasn’t received nearly enough study or attention by policymakers.”

So that’s where they’ve been going wrong. They drive sophisticated vehicles around with misplaced confidence when, in their heads, they’ve only just invented the wheel. Curse that testosterone.

-- Colin Ryan