Men are nearly twice as likely to receive a motoring conviction than woman, new research shows.
Using insurance quotation data, the study found that 65 percent of convictions were from men, while 35 percent were from women.
Men are also two and a half times more likely to have a drink-driving conviction than women.
But drink-driving isn’t the most common conviction. That ‘honour’ belongs to speeding, accounting for 65 percent of all declarations. Driving uninsured is next on seven percent, while drink-drivers are responsible for five percent of offences.
Dan Hutson, head of motor insurance at CompareTheMarket, the company behind the research, said: “During 2012, the rules were changed by the EU so that insurance premiums could not be based on gender.
“However, this clearly shows that many male drivers are not doing themselves any favours and goes someway to demonstrate why men could still be paying more for insurance than women on average. Convictions on your driving record could have a serious impact on the premium you could be quoted. Poor and unsafe driving practices are rightly having a punishing impact on the cost of running a car.”
‘Surrey’ seems to be the hardest word
Drivers with a motoring conviction are most likely to be found in Surrey. Last year, 83,230 people (seven percent of the county’s population) reported a driving conviction when arranging insurance cover.
It’s a similar story in Lancashire, where seven percent of the population hold a motoring conviction, followed by Cheshire (6.7 percent), West Yorkshire (6.5 percent) and Rutland (6.4 percent).
Looking at drink-driving convictions – which is about to become topical during the lead up to Christmas – Lancashire’s drivers are the worst offenders, with the county accounting for six percent of the country’s convictions.
Lancashire is followed by Cheshire, Cornwall, Shropshire and Northumberland.
Don’t hide your motoring conviction
According to Moneysupermarket, a speeding offence adds around £72 to the cost of car insurance, making it tempting for drivers to ‘forget’ previous convictions.
A conviction doesn’t need to be a driving offence – statistically, convicted drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident. Some insurers will consider such drivers too high-risk to insure.
Moneysupermarket says: ”Don’t be tempted to hide your conviction just to get a cheaper quote. If you don’t reveal convictions, you could invalidate your policy, meaning that any claims would be refused and you would essentially be driving while uninsured.”
