Men and Women Drivers

I've been a police officer for almost eight years and I have a theory on why both men and women think that the opposite sex are the worst drivers...they drive differently. Men constantly complain about women and their driving habits and women argue that, statistically, men have more accidents.  This arguement may be true, however, if you take into consideration weather related (lack of driving skill) accidents, it all evens out in my experience.
Here is what I've noticed about men and women drivers: men drive with a "pack" mentality, as in "pack animals" or "sports team". They tend to evaluate the driving of other drivers, anticipate what everyone else is doing and adjust their behavior and attention appropriately (or as they feel is appropriate based on their perception) to make the team work and to get EVERYONE into the right positions and make things happen.  This sometimes causes them to make sudden movements with quick decisions (often times accompanied by colorful language and squalling brakes) but the goal is to help the other "team members" win.  Each traffic movement is a victory for the team and movement to the (undefined) goal.

Women tend to drive with their personal goals and agendas in mind and aren't concerned about everyone else (they can tend to themselves).  I have interviewed dozens of women who were involved in motor vehicle accidents and have noticed this common theme. They tend to not pay attention to the other traffic or anticipate what the other traffic patterns may mean and don't seem to interpret other traffic (motorist and non motorists such as pedestrians or animals) the same way as men.  They do not approach driving like a field sport of teammates and goals.  Female drivers repeatedly focus on only their own driving and automobile operation as well as their goals of where they want to go or what manuever they are tying to negotiate.  I often hear women explain what happened in an motor vehicle accident in terms of "I was going to...", " I was trying to...", "I didn't see....", "I didn't know they were going to....", "Why would they have...",etc.

Yes, I am aware that I am generalizing men and women here (I don't think the guys will complain, though). However, I am compiling information that I have personally witnessed over and over again and am identifying the patterns that develop from the individuals that I have interviewed, the witness statements that I have read and the logical conclusions that have to be made on every accident investigated.  There is nothing researched or scientific about my conclusions but am simply offering an my observations on the different driving approaches between men and women.  It is just one additional evidence that the sexes do, in fact, think differently.

Allan