New Study Shows Gender Discrepancy in Traffic Citations

According to just about every insurance company in America, women are safer drivers than men. That’s why their insurance rates are cheaper, at least up until a certain age. A new study seems to come to the same conclusion. According to data from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, men are about 2.5 times as likely to get a ticket than women. However, the reasons behind this discrepancy vary, depending on whom is asked.

In 2015, about 3.5 million tickets were issued throughout the state of New York. Of those, men received about 2.5 million, while women only received less than 1 million. However, when averaging New York City with the rest of the state, both men and women make up about half of the drivers on the road.

State residents have varying opinions about why this discrepancy exists. One woman says it is because men have higher level of testosterone, which makes them more aggressive — and therefore, more likely to break traffic laws. When a couple of men were asked why their sex gets more tickets, however, they said it was because women are more likely to get out of a citation by “sweet-talking” the officer, which men can’t do nearly as effectively.

State Police Captain Jon Lupo said he agrees with the women on this matter. He says it is because of hormones, which make men more aggressive drivers. However, he also said that did not factor into how tickets were given, per se; rather, state and local police simply enforce the law, no matter who is behind the wheel. Lupo added that he was skeptical about claims that women could more easily talk their way out of a ticket. In his own experience, he has decided to not give citations to both male and female drivers, depending on the situation.

If you are issued a traffic ticket in New York, don’t face it alone. Contact the attorneys at Feifer & Greenberg to learn more about how we can help you.