There were more road crashes involving men drivers compared with women drivers between 2006 and 2009, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) says.

In 2009 alone, the number of traffic accidents involving male drivers was 2.4 times more than that of women drivers, Miros director-general Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah said in a statement today.

"There were 244,336 cases involving men drivers, compared with 103,153 cases among women drivers throughout the nation," Ahmad Farhan said in response to Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin's chauvinistic statement in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that women drivers were more likely to be reckless .

azlan He said the if the ratio of crashes was compared against the population, men had 1,351.74 accidents per 100,000 male population, while the ratio for women was 537.97 crashes per 100,000 female population.

Based on the statistics, Ahmad Farhan stressed, men appeared to be riskier on the roads compared with women as they were involved in more traffic accidents.

He noted that there was however a weakness among both genders when they were behind the wheel.

"Women are known to have poorer spatial ability compared with men, making a woman driver more hesitant in manoeuvres that require space and distance estimation, like entering and passing a junction, overtaking and parking.

'Hestitation makes you slowly dangerous'

"Hesitation will either make you slowly dangerous, or inadequately and dangerously daring, both making you a risk to road users," Ahmad Farhan added.

"Male drivers are known to possess better psychomotor skills, making them highly confident, and at times overly confident. As a result, a man has the general tendency to drive at high speed, to take chances and to be a greater risk on the road."

Nevertheless, traffic accident figures for both genders have grown, with that for men drivers increasing by 67.93 percent, while the figure for women drivers almost doubled to 97.74 percent from 2006 to 2009, he said.

accidents 260906 mutiple vehicle pileup But, Ahmad Farhan said, irrespective of gender, the risks on the road were the same and one should always give priority to safety.

"Risks will always be there, but by managing risks and by combining competency, adequate driving skills and putting safety first, one can reduce the risks of getting into a crash."

On Monday, Bung Moktar made what has been widely condemned as a narrow-minded statement that women drivers were reckless and that they were the major cause of traffic accidents.

He told Parliament: "They (women drivers) relax; think that because they are inside a car the world is theirs. They don't look left and right and when we honk they get angry. There are times when we honk, they show all sorts of sign language."

Several parties today bombarded Bung Moktar, including the All Women's Action Society (Awam), which demanded that he apologises and resigns as MP for his sexist remarks.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Heng Seai Kie yesterday called on both men and women to condemn Bung Moktar for his statement.

He should be forced to undergo a mandatory course in the history of the women's suffrage movement, gender equality and respecting women as equals, Heng said in a statement.