Men commit nine times as many motoring offences as women. Home Office figures show that the vast majority dealt with by courts for every type of traffic offence are male.

The disparity between the sexes is greatest for the most serious offences, with men guilty of 97 per cent of dangerous driving offences and 94 per cent for causing death or bodily harm.

Women's speeding offences have risen by four percentage points in the past five years yet still constitute only 17 per cent of the total. Women are far less likely to have high-speed collisions resulting in death. Crashes killed 238 women drivers in 2002, compared with 907 men.

In the past ten years the proportion of men with licences has remained at 81 per cent, but that of women increased from 49 per cent to 61 per cent. However, the proportion of all motoring offences committed by women in the past five years has risen by only one percentage point, to 12 per cent.

Parking appears to be the only area of driving in which women have a poorer record. Insurance claims showed in 2002 that women were twice as likely to have a collision in a car park, were 23 per cent more likely to hit a stationary car and 15 per cent more likely to reverse into another car.

Mary Williams, chief executive, of the road safety charity Brake, said: "The Government should place more emphasis on changing men's attitudes to driving and improving their safety skills, through advertising in mediums such as men's magazines and through education in the workplace. Particular concerns are excessive speed, high-risk manoeuvres such as overtaking dangerously, and driving when tired."

Steve Stradling, Professor of Transport Psychology at Napier University, Edinburgh, said: "A key factor is that women get less fun out of risk-taking. People speed because they are under pressure, and women have different patterns of obligations. Men are more likely to speed to make a business appointment."

In a survey for the Scottish Executive, Professor Stradling found that 82 per cent of women approved of speed cameras, compared with 68 per cent of men; 45 per cent of women believed that motorway speed limits should never be broken, compared with 30 per cent of men.

Nearly two thirds of men drive cars with an engine bigger than 1.6 litres, compared with 42 per cent of women. Women are also less likely to be members of the groups that campaign for an increase in speed limits.

(Agencies)