What are the implications of splitting lanes based on gender?

Credit: PinkZones

Sheila's Wheels, a self-described "female-focused car insurer," has put together a proposal for UK roads that has shocked many and been met with both backlash and praise.

After reviewing reports and statistics on road accidents and the major causes behind them, Sheila's Wheels found that men are four times more likely to be convicted of a motoring accident than women in the UK, but that women were most likely to be badly injured in a traffic accident compared to men.

That's why the car insurance company decided to roll out a new idea to protect women called PinkZones, a concept that would result in separate lanes for female drivers. The lanes would increase safety and remove women from potentially dangerous accidents because female drivers are less likely to cause accidents and fewer accidents would mean fewer injuries.

Credit: PinkZones

The PinkZones design proposes two new roads: one where a lane is designated for women only on an existing road network and another where there is a flyover created just for women over the busiest highways.

Of course, Sheila's Wheels doesn't expect this idea to actually go into effect anytime soon, but their proposal is meant to encourage deeper thinking about the way people drive. Peter Rodger, Chief Examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said,

"While PinkZones may be something of a utopia for female drivers, there's clearly a need to identify how to provide a safer driving environment on the road. Driver safety is a paramount concern for us and we're in favor of promoting further discussion about how to tackle the gender differences in driving to make it safer for all road users."