CAR accidents are less likely with a woman driving and a man as front-seat passenger, surprise results of research by a leading motor insurer confirm.
Direct Line, or Línea Directa as it is known in Spain, found that the least-safe combination was a man driver and male passenger, but that the dynamics of a male passenger with a woman driver decreased crash risk by up to six times.
The first study in Spain into the front-seat passenger's influence on accident rates, Línea Directa found that the 'worst' type of companion was a man aged 18 to 29 who did 'not cooperate with the driver', who 'talked excessively throughout the journey', who 'constantly criticises' the motorist's driving skills, and who continually 'messes with' functions on the dashboard such as music equipment.
But the 'perfect passenger' is also a man, aged between 60 and 69, who is 'more cooperative', 'produces fewer distractions', and 'keeps an eye on traffic signals' whilst encouraging the driver to comply with road rules.
With the 'worst type' of passenger, offences such as speeding and other dangerous habits like braking for no good reason increased, and these companions 'tend to tolerate excessively' behaviour such as going too fast (in 46% of cases), distractions (in 11% of cases), jerky or aggressive driving and braking (7%), road rage (6%) and not respecting minimum safety distances from other cars (5%).
Offences or dangerous practices caused by not concentrating properly tend to diminish with the 'perfect passenger' in the car, who would normally not let the motorist drive after drinking or taking drugs or without a seatbelt, jump traffic lights and stop signs, or use a mobile phone at the wheel.
Accident rates in general have been studied by motor insurance companies for many years, and it is generally found that men up to age 25 – especially within a year or two of passing their test – are significantly more likely to crash than women of any age, even new female drivers.
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