My Blog: Final

Journalism, Mr.Kefor

January 20th

Modern Day Discrimination?

Driving is one of the most common things we as people do in our everyday lives. Pretty early on we learn to operate on the roads and although most of us are adequate drivers insurance is necessary for all of us. Insurance is expensive: but why in our modern day society, where equality is what everyone is all about are men paying more for insurance from the very beginning? Shouldn’t we all be treated as individuals and not be stereotyped by the labels of society? Insurance companies think not. Are they wrong to think this way, or is it in fact discrimination? That’s exactly what we’re going to explore.

Stereotypes are one thing but number don’t lie. A National Department of Transportation study entitled "Sex of Drivers Involved in Crashes 2000-2009" found that male drivers were involved in some 18 million more accidents than female drivers during the same time frame. Not only do men get into more car accidents, but men also are more commonly involved in speeding, alcohol and other major accidents, whereas women are more likely to be in a fender bender here and there. The bigger the accident the less insurance companies like you. "Insurance companies see men as a bigger risk, they don’t like that." (Loose 1). Loose is basically saying that if you're male you need to suck it up. Men have been paying higher insurance premiums for the last half a century and that’s how it's going to be.

"But if a man and a woman living in the same city with the same profile shop for car insurance, the woman would likely receive a lower auto insurance quote."(Roberts-Grey 1). It seems like pretty simple logic right? You drive recklessly and you pay more for insurance. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 70% of the people involved in fatal car crashes in 2009 were men. But this only makes sense, considering that approximately 65% of road drivers are in fact men. More male drivers equals more male car accidents right? If you take all the male and female crashes and compare them to the total amount of crashes on the road you'll see something quite interesting. Male crashes compared to female crashes are at an almost 1:1 ratio. Although, even with this amazing piece of information it does not change the fact that men are still involved in much more reckless driving then women. According to a study by Quality Planning, a San Francisco company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers, male drivers are also cited for reckless driving 3.4 times more than women are. 3.4 times doesn't seem anything like a 1:1 Ratio. If men are that much more reckless I'm surprised insurance companies haven't found a way to get more money out of us!

According to a Accurate auto investigation annual reporting does not take into account the fact that men drive more miles than women, on average and therefore are "exposed" to traffic situations more often. Why are men being charged so much for insurance then? Well, their younger less experienced male brethren are to blame for that. Males under the age of 25 are seen as "high risk" because of their frequent involvement in car accidents, speeding, and road rage. This statement applies to my life completely. Before even having my license for 6 months I managed to wrap myself around a pole, and take out a mail box. Both on separate occasions and entirely due to speeding. "Men of any age group are far more likely to be driving while intoxicated, to speed, to drive recklessly, and to flout the law. They also tend to drive cars that give them psychological boost to commit these violations more often."(AAI 1).

Male car choice seems to play a large role in high insurance rates as well. Whereas females are more likely to drive a safe, fuel efficient cars. Men are more likely to drive a racecar type vehicle. I personally can attest to this. Being an owner of a Bmw 335xi I cannot lie when I say that is speed far more now than I did when I drove my vw jetta. Going from 150 bhp (Horsepower) to 306 fuel guzzling horses under the hood of your car not only gives you an ego boost but quite a heavy foot as well. Luckily I am yet to get pulled over, but I find myself driving over 100mph on the highway quite frequently. BAD HABIT. Woman, and mothers in particular drive vehicles for child transportation, (minivans), which gives them a little less of a "rush" compared to what most men drive. When you're moving kids around from one place to another, chances are you're not going to put the family tree on the line for a quick thrill.

So basically, men pay for more insurance not because they get into more car accidents, speed more, get more citations etc.. Those all apply, but mostly because of the types of car accidents they are getting into. Whereas women are playing bumper cars, men are more inclined to drink a beer or two and wrap themselves around a tree, or maybe a nice aluminum pole. If men got into the same types of accidents as women, their insurance rates wouldn’t be nearly as high. Although, even if men didn't get into as many reckless incidents it doesn’t change the fact that we speed, and overall are less rational on the roads. With all the stated, is it fair? Is it discrimination for men to pay more for auto insurance even though they are statistically "worse" drivers? My personal answer is yes. In a society where everything is about equality and treating people as equals it seems that car insurance companies haven't caught up with the pack. Drivers should be charged based on their driving history not gender. Sure, men may be more likely to speed statistically.. but if a man has no speeding tickets why are you going to charge him more for something he might do? I don’t see people going to jail for maybe in the future committing a felony. This logic is flawed and is simply a way for big business to get more money out of the common man.