The number of female drivers on the road is increasing at twice the rate of male drivers, a new study has revealed.
The report from the RAC Foundation found that between 1995 and 2010, the number of women motorists increased by 23 per cent to 13.8 million, while the number of male drivers increased by just 9 per cent, up to 16.3 million.
In the United States female drivers account for more than 50 per cent of motorists, and the figures show that soon there will be more women than men with UK driving licences.
And not only are more women driving, we are also racking up higher mileages. Although men on average drive almost twice as far as women, the divide is closing as the average mileage for a female driver has increased by 20 per cent and the average for a male motorist has fallen by a similar margin.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Strikingly it is women who have increasingly gotten behind the wheel. This is a reflection of their growing social and financial independence over recent decades."
So, with it seemingly inevitable that female motorists will outnumber men in the not-too-distant future, can we please lay the 'Women Driver' jokes to rest?
