Australia’s female motorists are more likely to be kind and courteous to other road users than men, a recent survey has found.
Insurance giant Youi surveyed 2000 motorists across every state and territory – apart from the Australian Capital Territory – to form the “Australian Unofficial Driving Etiquette Act”.
Five “rules” were devised, ranging from acknowledging other motorists when they’ve done something to help you, saying hello to fellow drivers, adhering to zipper merge procedures, giving pedestrians the right-of-way even if there isn’t a crossing, and giving space to those reverse parallel parking.
Across these five criteria, women were more likely to engage in polite driving behaviours than men in four of the categories, and only two per cent less likely to yield to pedestrians crossing the road outside of pedestrian traffic lights or marked crossroads.
The largest disparity between women and men came with how often drivers thank other motorists with a wave. A total of 66 per cent of female respondents said they do it every time, compared to 54 per cent of males.
Less than half of the men surveyed are also more likely to not zipper merge, instead preferring to cut into lanes when in a traffic jam.
You can read the full results of the survey here, with breakdowns of responses from those across age groups, metropolitan and regional locations, as well as specific jurisdictions.
