Women have passed men on the nation's roads. More women than men
now have driver's licenses, a reversal of a longtime gender gap behind
the wheel that transportation researchers say is likely to have safety
and economic implications.
If current trends continue, the gap
will only widen. The share of teens and young adults of both sexes with
driver's licenses is declining, but the decline is greater for young
men, according to a study by the University of Michigan's Transportation
Research Institute. The study looked at gender trends in driver's
licenses between 1995 and 2010.
"The changing gender demographics
will have major implications on the extent and nature of vehicle demand,
energy consumption, and road safety," predicted Michael Sivak,
co-author of the study. Women are more likely than men to purchase
smaller, safer and more fuel-efficient cars; to drive less, and to have a
lower fatality rate per distance driven, he said.
Over the 15
years the study covered, the share of men ages 25 to 29 years old with
driver's licenses dropped 10.6 percent. The share of women of the same
age with driver's licenses declined by about half that amount, 4.7
percent.
Male drivers outnumbered women drivers from the moment
the first Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908, the year
the automobile became popular, and through most of the last century. In
the 1950s, when only about half of adult women had driver's licenses,
jokes about women drivers were a staple of comedians.
But the gap
gradually closed. By 1995, men with driver's licenses slightly
outnumbered women, 89.2 million to 87.4 million. By 2010, 105.7 million
women had licenses, compared with 104.3 million men.
Likewise, in
1995 men with driver's licenses outnumbered women in every age group
except those over 70. By 2010, women outnumbered men among drivers ages
45 and older and between ages 25 and 29 years old. The share of older
women who are also on hanging onto their driver's licenses has also
increased.
"I want to be in my own car for as long as possible. I
want to be independent for as long as I can," said Diane Spitaliere, 58,
a retired government worker in Alexandria, Va.
Male drivers under
age 44 are still slightly more numerous than women of the same age, but
that's only because young men outnumber young women in the general
population, the study said. There now are 105 boys born each year for
every 100 girls in the U.S. Women outnumber men later in life because
they live longer — an average of 80 years for women, compared with about
75 years for men.
Rising Internet usage may be part of the reason
for the decline in the share young drivers, especially young men, Sivak
said. A previous study by the transportation institute published
earlier this year found that countries that have higher Internet usage
also have a lower licensure rate of teens and young adults.
"There is some suggestive evidence that Internet contact is reducing the need for personal contact," he said.
Other
researchers have theorized that digital media and technology may make
driving less desirable and public transportation more convenient.
Texting while driving is dangerous and illegal in most states, but
there's no risk to texting or working on a laptop while riding a bus or
train. Some transit systems have been seeing significant increases in
riders.
Another reason for the growing disinterest among young men
in driving may be the erosion of the "car-fetish society," travel
behavior analyst Nancy McGuckin said. "Today's young adults grew up in
the back seat of cars stalled in congestion, hearing their folks swear
at the endless traffic. Nothing romantic about that!"
It is also
"no longer cool, or even possible, to work on your own vehicle. The
engines are so complex most people don't even change their own oil," she
said. "Independence, freedom, being able to customize the car to
reflect you — these are not part of young people's association with
vehicles."
There also may be economic reasons for the shift,
McGuckin's research indicates. Employment of 16- to 24-year-olds as a
share of all workers has declined. At the same time, the rate of young
men ages 18 to 34 years old living at home has been going up and is
greater than the rate of young women living at home.
It may be
that unemployment and underemployment have made auto insurance
unaffordable for young men, said Alan Pisarski, author of the
Transportation Research Board's comprehensive "Commuting in America"
reports on U.S. travel trends. "Insurance for males under 25 is just
colossally expensive," he said.
There has also been a sharp
decline in vehicle trips and the number of miles traveled by vehicle for
16- to 29-year old males, according to McGuckin's analysis of massive
government travel surveys between 1990 and 2009. The declines for women
were not as great.
"The car companies are very worried," she said.
Gloria
Berquist, vice president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers,
said the alliance is aware that the share of teens and young adults
obtaining driver licenses is dropping, although the association hasn't
seen the research on the gender differences.
"Some research has
shown that young adults today connect with their friends through their
smartphones, but at some point younger consumers still need to get from
here to there, and a car is still a priority where public transportation
is unavailable or limited," she said. "This is especially true for
younger adults when they enter the workforce."
Goyahkla
was an everyday Apache tribesman until the day he returned from a
trading expedition in 1858 and found that Mexican soldiers had killed
his mother, wife, and three children -as well as all the other women and
children in his tribe. That's when he became Geronimo, the fearsome
warrior who vowed to kill as many white men as he could. In 1886,
outmanned and pursued mercilessly, Geronimo surrendered to the U.S.
Army. It was a negotiated surrender in which he was told he would be
held for two years. From that day until he died in 1909, Geronimo was in
federal custody. That didn't mean he spent the rest of his life in
prison, though -he was exhibited at the World's Fair and worked for a
Wild West show, but was always under Army supervision. But all Geronimo
wanted to do was go home to Arizona.
Four
years ago, Mike Loura was struck by a car while riding his bike and became
paralyzed. Today, he walked again for the first time thanks to a robotic
exoskeleton:
'Perfect' cloaking demonstrated
