A new study suggests that women are better at taking back control of a driverless vehicle when required, have faster reaction times, hold more stable wheel control and engage in fewer reckless manoeuvres.

Researchers at Newcastle University have concluded that driverless car software may need to have settings based on gender and age, so that people who need extra time to respond can be warned of obstructions earlier, or informed sooner that navigation signals are about to be lost.

Dr Shuo Li, an expert in intelligent transport systems at Newcastle University, told the Telegraph, “For example, when an 80-year-old male driver takes over, the vehicle could provide him with a longer lead time to do that.

“So if there’s an obstacle on the road, several miles ahead, the vehicle sensor feed can communicate with the infrastructure to be able to provide a relatively longer reaction time for people.”

Previous studies have shown that women in general are less positive about the idea of driverless cars, but researchers said the new results show they are actually able to use and interact with them better than men.

(Picture – Yay Images)