Woman are better drivers than men, new research has revealed.

For years, women have had to put up with jokes about their driving - but now new statistics have revealed that women should own the bragging rights when it come to driving.

Research from price comparison website Confused.com reveals that men are almost four times more likely to commit motoring offences, such as speeding, drink driving and driving with no tax or insurance.

The gender gap in 100 drivers is brought to you by Confused.com.

Confused.com has produced an interactive animation called The Gender Gap in 100 Drivers to show the difference between the sexes.

In total, more than 585,000 drivers in England and Wales were taken to court for breaking the law on the road in 2017(4), of which the majority (79%) were men – outnumbering women almost 4:1.

In particular, almost one in four (23%) of these offences were men with a heavy foot slapped with a speeding ticket.

While almost one in 15 (7%) were women who committed the same offence.

Men also outweigh women 5:1 when it came to drink-driving offences, and 2:1 for driving without tax or insurance.

The riskier driving behaviour displayed by men has cost them dearly over the years, with men paying £92 more for car insurance compared to women.

This has dropped from men paying up to £121 more than women since an EU directive prohibited insurance companies from solely using a driver's sex.

And it seems male drivers have cost insurers more money when it comes to claims pay-outs, suggesting they have been in more accidents than women.

In 2017, two out of three (65%) insurance claims were made by men, of which 17% were fault claims.

In comparison, more than one in three (35%) claims last year came from women – 9% of which were at fault.

And not only do men make more claims, they also tend to be a little more expensive too.

Data held by Confused.com suggests that men claimed on average £3,271 per pay out, while women’s were slightly cheaper at £3,121.

This could be down to the fact that men often own more expensive cars. In fact, further research by Confused.com found that men own cars with an average value of £8,654. While women are driving around in cars with a lower value of £7,090 – a whopping £1,563 difference. And this alone will reduce the price of car insurance.

Not only this, but men are more likely to have bad driving habits.

For example, almost one in four (23%) male motorists admit to not indicating when switching lanes, compared to more than one in six (17%) women.

And men are more likely to tailgate another driver (12%), compared to women (7%).

However, there are some bad habits which are more common among women, including eating while driving (48% vs. 47%), and driving in bare feet (12% vs. 6%).

While the research clearly shows women are ‘better’ drivers, this could be down to the fact that they had more practice, as it took them longer to receive their licence.

The Gender Gap in 100 Drivers animation reveals more women took their driving test than men in 2017, although, fewer passed.

Of all the learner drivers who took their test last year, 23% of those who passed were female, compared to 24% of men.

And it seems female drivers struggled to get their licence first time around, with just one in 10 (10%) passing first time (compared to 11% men).

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “As a female racing driver, I know women can hold their own when it comes to driving, and data suggests that they are in fact safer on the roads. And this is reflected in the fact that they are paying almost £100 less for their premiums(1). And this could be down to the fact that more men committed more motoring offences in comparison to women. Not only this, but they also often own more expensive cars, which means claims are likely to be more expensive.

“For those who still don’t quite believe it, we’ve created an interactive animation that outlines why this is.

“Regardless of whether men or women are paying more for car insurance, it’s an unavoidable cost which is making motoring less and less affordable. Drivers should cut through the clutter of car insurance chaos by shopping around and comparing the best deals using a site like Confused.com, where they could save up to £291(7).”