A case about a woman on trial for mowing down a cyclist in England, sheds light on the surge of car accidents involving women drivers.
In February, Laura Brayshaw, was found guilty of causing death by careless driving. The court, during the trial heard about how the the mum-of-three lost control for a "split second" of the car to tell her children to stop throwing popcorn in the backseat.
Her case is becoming increasingly common. Research has found that women drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident. A team from University of Michigan "found a higher-than-expected proportion of accidents between two female drivers" after looking at 6.5 million car crashes, the Daily Mail reported.
In 2015, 10% of crashes involving women happened on school runs, compared with just 1.1% of men.
Pressures of daily life could be a huge contributing for the rise in such cases. Motoring lawyer Nick Freeman is flooded with enquiries from women in their 40s who have been charged with a variety of driving offences. "Often they tell me that they are just trying to do too much – work, run the home, look after children, and this impacts on their mental health and the amount they drink, causing their general lack of concentration on the road," Freeman told the Daily Mail.
Adding, "Many are also suffering with depression. Maybe their marriage is weighed down under the strain of it all. Alternatively, they feel under pressure to perform well in every sphere of their lives – be the perfect wife, perfect mother, and perfect executive. There is no intention to break the law – many have never been in trouble before. However, that level of pressure can have catastrophic consequences when they get behind the wheel
Dr Sandi Mann, an anxiety specialist feels women are juggling too many things in one go. "So when they do something which is largely automatic it is an opportunity for the mind to wander into problem-solving," Mann is quoted as saying in the report.
