Bradford University researchers have told a conference in London, a conference all about hormones, that women have a better attention span and better ability to learn rules than men. The level of the female hormone oestrogen present in women’s brains is thought to prime the part of the brain which is responsible for tasks such as attention and spatial recognition.
From the findings it seems that women are thought to be better at shifting their attention from one thing to another and are therefore better at driving and reading. The researchers hypothesise that women are more careful drivers because of the effect of oestrogen. One school of thought is that oestrogen may positively influence neuronal activity in the frontal lobes of the brain.
The fundamental differences between men and women when it comes to driving are that men are bigger risk takers; they seek sensation and enjoy the thrill of the chase. Women are intrinsically more cautious and are therefore involved in car accidents of a less serious nature.
Men are better than women in some areas such as navigation, spatial awareness and confidence. However, this confidence leads to more accidents. This is the main reason that women only car insurance companies can provide cheaper car insurance rates to women.