Women less likely to have driving convictions

After carrying out research into over one million car insurance customers on its books, the AA has revealed that male drivers are one-and-a-half times more likely to possess a driving conviction than female drivers.

Overall, the research revealed that 18% of motorists have at least one driving conviction, with 4% possessing two or more. This shows a large increase since the last time the survey was carried out 10 years ago, when the total figure was 14%.

One reason for this could be the proliferation of speed cameras in recent years, which have led to many more people getting a conviction for speeding. Indeed, of all the convictions, 85% are for speeding offences. In contrast, the second-highest offence, skipping traffic lights, makes up just 9% of the total convictions.

Further down the list, drink-driving makes up 2% of convictions, with men more than twice as likely to have a drink-driving conviction than women. Bottom of the list are driving without insurance and driving using a mobile phone.

The research also revealed that younger drivers are more likely to have a conviction than older drivers. In the 25-34 age group for male drivers, 23.4% have at least one driving conviction.

In terms of the country as a whole, Northern Ireland saw the lowest level of drivers with convictions, with only 9% of men and 6% of women holding a conviction. The highest rate was in the Midlands, where 31.5% of men and 16.6% of women have a driving conviction to their name.