Demographic Shift: In The U.S., More Women Drive Than Men - The Car Connection

Older white men -- once the country's key voting block -- make up an increasingly small percentage of the electorate, while African Americans, Latinos, and women are gaining ground. According to a new study from Michael Sivak and colleague Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute , older men (of all races and ethnicities) are less likely than women to drive after age 45 -- and the... The Washington Post reports that Sivak and Schoettle reviewed 15 years' worth of U. S. driver's licence statistics, from 1995 to 2010. In 1995, 89. 2 million men held licences, compared to 87. 4 million American women. Men held their lead over women in every age group until age 70, when the trend flipped, perhaps in part to women's longer life-expectancies. Although younger men are still more likely to have a driver's licence than younger women, the trend does reverse -- only this time, the flip happens not at 70, but at age 45. In 2010, 105. 7 million American women had driver's licenses, versus... As we've often discussed, the number of younger Americans with driver's licences is declining thanks to graduated licencing, the cost of car ownership, and broader issues like social networking, which has reduced the need for face-to-face... As a result, the number of young women (age 25 - 29) with driver's licenses dropped 4. 7% between 1995 and 2010. However, the number of young men with licenses fell twice that amount -- 10. 6%. Only time will tell if men will pick up the slack as... Source: www.thecarconnection.com