Driving convictions ‘more common in men’

Male drivers are almost one-and-a-half times more likely to have a driving conviction than their female counterparts, according to an analysis of AA car insurance policyholders.

Nearly one in five AA customers have at least one conviction and the researchers found that men were more than twice as likely to have been caught drink-driving.

Drivers living in the Midlands seem to be the least law-abiding, with 31.5% of men and 1.6% of women having a conviction to their name.

In contrast, just 9% of men and 6% of women in Northern Ireland had motoring convictions.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, revealed: “The vast majority of convictions, 85% of them, are for speeding offences. [The] second most likely offence is for jumping traffic lights (9%) while a worrying 2% are drink-drive offences.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the insurer’s books show that younger drivers are most likely to have convictions.

According to road safety charity Brake, 18-year-old drivers are more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash than 48-year-olds.