Women are the better drivers!

Male motorists have racked up almost three times as many penalty points as the borough’s females.

That’s according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, which also reveal one dodgy driver is still on the road despite clocking up 17 points, five more than the threshold for an automatic ban.

“I think the main difference between the two is that women don’t speed as much and they are more cautious,” said Gordon Stenhouse, membership secretary for the Scarborough and District Group of Advanced Motorists.

“Men take more chances behind the wheel, and that seems to reflect in the figures.

“But in terms of one being the safer driver, I don’t think there’s a great difference between them both, both genders are equally as good.”

And with Scarborough’s most penalised driver having not event reached his 30th birthday before ‘totting up’ 17 points, Gordon said it’s age - not gender- that determines skills behind the wheel.

“I think the worst drivers are the young ones, as they lack experience,” he added.

“They are not as observant.”

But the figures disclosed by the DVLA shoot down the idea that ‘boy racer’ teens and young adults are the most reckless on our road, with middle aged drivers posse sing the most points on their licence.

And the disclosure shows that Scarborough’s 2,807 male drivers have picked up points compared to just 1,062 females, despite an almost identical gender split among the borough’s 50,000 plus motorists.

Those figures mean that one in ten male drivers have points on their licence, compared to around one in 25 women.

Andrew Jenkinson is a taxi driver, councillor and a former NVQ driving assessor, and he said there’s no question as to which sex is the better driver.

“I’ve come across all kinds of drivers, but the best women drivers are undoubtedly better than the best men,” he said.

“This isn’t having a go at men, but women follow the letter of the law more and if a woman puts her mind to anything, she will do anything better than a man.

And the Conservative councillor added: “The finest women we’ve ever had are Margaret Thatcher and the Queen, and both of them drove.”

“They follow the letter of the law more. This isn’t having a go at men.”

The figures show that seven times as many men have passed the 12 point automatic ban threshold in Scarborough, with dozens more tottering on the brink of a ban.

But a DVLA spokesperson said that while the ban limit may have been exceeded, they are often still allowed to drive on due to the court’s ability to use it’s “discretion” to decide whether or not to disqualify a driver.