Are you man enough to tell Danica Patrick to move over and let you drive?

Here’s a shocker: Men don’t like the way the women in their lives drive. In other news, a federal agency announced a study that determined that water is wet and fire is hot.

As many as one in three men are so “frightened” by the driving of their distaff partner they don’t feel safe, finds a study conducted by OnePoll.com, a British-based online market research firm. But a survey official suggests that “women’s driving can’t be as bad as men believe.”

And hard data suggests there may be a significant gap between perception and reality.

The survey was based on the response of 3,000 British men, but while OnePoll doesn’t provide the sort of statistical qualifications that validate the scientific accuracy of the study, it clearly suggests modern males continue to hold the same sort of antagonistic views of women drivers that helped keep ‘50s TV shows like “I Love Lucy” stocked with jokes.

Some findings from the survey:

• 20 percent of men say they can never relax when their significant other is driving;
• The top complaint was that women lack concentration when driving. Men said that women are too distracted by children, scenery or other motorists;
• One in 10 men feels it necessary to ask their wife to pull over so they can drive.

Other complaints include riding in the middle lane, braking too hard, going too fast and failing to use turn signals.

Battles of the sexes over driving is not a new phenomenon. An interesting companion study would be to see if women have similar feelings about their men, who typically do most of the driving when couples are together anyway.

Men also nitpicked female drivers for “flicking the accelerator,” resulting in an uneven ride, rolling from side to side in their lane and an inability to avoid rumble strips.

So what’s one to do when riding with one’s significant other, the person who they supposedly love? Well, there’s always gripping the edges of the seat. Or you could try stomping the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger-side footwell. A better choice might be to try to take a nap, so you’re asleep when your partner’s inattentive driving leads to an accident.

Is there really as big a gap in the way men and women drive?  A spokesman for OnePoll told the British newspaper, The Telegraph, “I am sure women’s driving can’t be as bad as men think,” adding, “It is probably a case that men just think they are safer drivers.”

Meanwhile, here on the American side of the Atlantic, a 2009 study by Insurance.com would suggest the driving gap is more one of perception than reality.  If anything, women may have the advantage.

Industry and government data show that 68% of women have no traffic violations, versus 6% of men.  Of those who have gotten tickets, 30% of women have between one and three violations, and 2% have four or more.  Among men, the figures are 33% with no more than three violations, while 3% have more.

Carnegie Mellon’s 2007 study of driver risks, dubbed TrafficSTATS, found men have a 77% higher risk of dying in an auto accident compared to women.  Just 6.53 women will die for every 100 million trips compared to 14.61 men.

The gap is even more pronounced among younger drivers.

“All the evidence points to young males having riskier driving habits than young females. Men between the ages of 16 and 25 are much more likely to be involved in accidents, or be cited for traffic violations,” noted Insurance.com vice president, Sam Belden. “Insurance companies bear this kind of behavior in mind when quoting rates.”

Top Ten Complaints About Women’s Driving, According to OnePoll:

  1. Lack of concentration
  2. Braking too late
  3. Flicking the accelerator
  4. Not avoiding rumble strips
  5. Getting too close to other cars
  6. Braking too hard
  7. Fiddling with the stereo
  8. Failure to indicate
  9. Going too fast
  10. Sticking in the middle lane

TheDetroitBureau.com’s Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.

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