Distracted driving, drunk driving and the role of gender

You have likely heard distracted driving compared to drunk driving. Both slow driver reaction times and cause accidents. Both can be incredibly dangerous, leading to numerous injuries and fatalities.

One thing that’s interesting to note is that those who engage in both behaviors can often be divided by gender.

For men, drunk driving is the bigger issue. In fact, it’s a staggering 400 percent more likely that a person who is involved in a deadly DUI crash is a man, rather than a woman.

Distracted driving swings the other way. For instance, it is far more common for women, and particularly younger women, to text behind the wheel. This isn’t to say that men don’t do it, but they don’t do it as often.

Age also does play into the picture. Very young drivers — from 16 years old to 24 years old — tend to be distracted drivers. Drunk driving is still most common with relatively young drivers, but they tend to be a little older, ranging from 26 years old to 29 years old in more than 20 percent of cases.

Which is worse? The debate continues, but the stats help show the dangers of both. Drunk driving tends to be deadlier, leading to 10,265 deaths during the course of 2015, while distracted driving took 3,477 lives. However, distracting driving causes more injuries, leading to 391,000 in 2015, while drunk driving accounted for 290,000, more than 100,000 fewer injuries.

Those who have been hit by distracted drivers or drunk drivers could be facing high medical bills and many other costs. It’s very important for them to know all of their legal options.

Source: The Zebra, “Drunk Driving vs. Distracted Driving: Which is More Dangerous?,” accessed Jan. 04, 2018