Lifestyle

A new study shows women drive auto-driving cars better than men

The next generation of driverless cars may have gender settings for their drivers. That’s the takeaway from a study by researchers out of England’s University of Newcastle.

The scientists found that for cars that could drive themselves, women reacted better in an emergency situation in which human driver input was needed.

The study, which was published in Nature Scientific Reports, put 76 drivers — 33 women and 43 men — behind the wheel in driving simulations reflecting various real-world conditions.

Women demonstrated slightly faster reaction time and “more stable operation of the steering wheel” when driver input was required. Further, the men in the experiments were observed to be “hasty” in grabbing the wheel back from the autonomous auto.