Women may love their cars, but they are driven to road rage by ‘arrogant’ male drivers who gesture rudely, drive dangerously and think they own the road, new research to launch MissMotors.co.uk, a new female-friendly motoring site from eBayMotors.co.uk, reveals today.
The research – an in depth study looking at modern women’s relationship with their cars and driving – reveals that 99% of women confess to losing their temper behind the wheel, with 85% directing their wrath squarely at male drivers.

One in four women hate how ‘arrogant’ men can be behind the wheel, with 23% of women angry at men’s careless driving, and their lack of concern for road safety, including other drivers and pedestrians.

A woman’s wrath is clearly provoked however with more than a third of women (35%) claiming to have been victims of road rage. Every other woman (52%) has experienced rude gestures from men while driving, compared to one in four who have been given ‘rude signals’ from other female motorists on the road!

Jody Ford, Senior Manager at eBay Motors, comments:
“Having identified the battles women face both on and off the road, MissMotors.co.uk provides top tips for women to help them stay calm and hopefully avoid reaching the boiling point that can lead to road rage.

“With macho behaviour often reaching male dominated car showrooms, the internet is fast becoming the place savvy women go to buy without having to endure the arrogance they’ve come to expect from male drivers.”

Hormone Highway
To be fair, it’s not all a man’s fault - in a confession that will vindicate the suspicion of thousands of men, 17% of women admit to losing their cool more often during their ‘time of the month’, confirming that hormones can adversely affect a woman’s mood and driving skills. Some 8% of women confess that their parking skills go to pot when they have their period.

Calm down dear…
For women in relationships, more than one in ten (11%) will start arguing with their partner just 15 minutes into their car journey together. The vast majority of in-car rows (40%) are due to men criticising their partner's driving skills.  Welsh men are the biggest driving critics with over 65% of in-car arguments in the region being caused by men becoming impatient with their partner's driving.

More than 15% of in-car rows across Britain are caused by men's overly aggressive response to other drivers while their partner is driving, while a further 13% are caused by men taking control of the car stereo and dictating the music.

Some women have had enough, with 14% saying that they prefer to drive in their car than spend time with their man as their car is ‘more dependable and less hassle to maintain’ than their partner.

Sex Drive
But it’s not just danger that women flirt with on the roads, more than a quarter of all women (28%) say men have made eyes at them while at the traffic lights or stuck in traffic. Younger women aged 18-24 are more likely to be the targets of male affections when behind the wheel.
Other research highlights:

• One in two British women admit to lying, flirting, acting dumb and pretending to be single in an effort to clinch bigger discounts when buying a car
• 45% of all female drivers are now considering buying their car online. Of those, 46% consider going online as they’ve found it to be the best place to get better deals

• The top five reasons behind a car purchase are the same for women as for men (price, economy, reliability, make/model and miles on the clock), debunking the popular myth that women go for colour alone!

• 71% of the 1078 women polled said that they love their car because it gives them independence and the freedom to go where they want, when they want 
• Almost a quarter (25%) of women admitted that they would prefer to buy a used car from a woman than a man because they believe women take better care of the car

• Women are less concerned by a car’s green credentials than men. 38% of women would consider switching to a green motor, compared to 45% of men. Critically, while more than a third (35%) admire other drivers who drive green cars 4% say they find men who squeeze into small eco-friendly cars a real turn off!

The eBayMotors.co.uk research report is an in depth study looking at modern women’s relationship with their cars and driving - ranking women on key indicators such as their confidence behind the wheel and on the forecourt, road rage and attitudes towards male drivers, amongst other areas.

A full copy of the report can be downloaded at www.MissMotors.co.uk

Notes to Editors:
Methodology
ICM interviewed a random sample of 2071 drivers aged 18+ from ICM’s online panel between the 7th and 8th March 2007.  Panellists were recruited from across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.  ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.  Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk
Further studies were conducted among a focus group of 12 women on 12th March 2007.

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