New road safety programme in France urges motorists to 'drive like a woman'

A French road safety association said on Monday it had launched a campaign urging men to drive like women, aiming to cut traffic deaths while debunking the sexist stereotype that men are better behind the wheel.

"Drive Like A Woman", runs the slogan on the ads, seen mostly in metro stations and posted online, from the association Victims and Citizens. "A look at the data tells you that there's no truth" to the stereotype that men are better drivers, the association said in a statement. Some 84 percent of deadly road accidents were caused by men, it said, citing a governmental road safety report.

Victims and Citizens, which assists people injured in traffic accidents and runs awareness campaigns, said it hoped to prompt a change in the "mentality of men and therefore in their behaviour". According to the government report, 93 percent of drivers causing an accident under the influence of alcohol were men. "Driving like a woman just means one thing, staying alive," the ad campaign said.

Close to 3,200 people died in road accidents in France last year, with early data for this year pointing to a possible increase in 2024.

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