Who Knew? Men Text More Than Women.

Believe it or not, men are more likely to be guilty of talking or texting while driving, at least in Connecticut. This is almost certainly true for New York and New Jersey as well. Since the ban on cell phone use was enacted in 2006, more men than women have consistently received tickets for distracted driving.

The Associated Press (AP) conducted a study that revealed that male drivers received between 52 and 54 percent of distracted driving tickets issued annually in the past six years. In 2011, Connecticut men received almost 16,000 distracted driving tickets while women received only 13,690. Since there are more women drivers, the disparity is even greater.

Many states ban texting while driving or all cell phone use for beginning drivers. Some states ban handheld cell phone use. Bans such as these apply whether or not an accident occurred.

A spokesman for the American Insurance Association said that male drivers are more likely to engage in risky behavior than female drivers. For example, more men in general are involved in car crashes every year. And surveys have shown that more men than women admit to texting while driving.

In Connecticut, the penalty for distracted driving is $125 for the first offense and $250 for the second offense, Drives who are caught texting while driving will face suspension of their drivers’ licenses. One of the top towns for distracted driving tickets is Branford, a suburb of New Haven. Police there intensified their efforts to catch cell phone users after realizing that many traffic accidents were caused by cell phone users.

Another hot spot for distracted driving tickets is Greenwich, a town on the New York border. Greenwich police sergeant John Slusarz noted that he wasn’t surprised because, in his opinion, men drive more than men.

Source: CtPost, “In Conn., more men than women use phones, drive,” by John Christopher, Feb. 12, 2012.