I was on one of my little New York City rendezvous in Times Square when I witnessed a small car crash. Nothing major, just a fender-bender, enough to make traffic slow down and people turn their heads. Two cars had pulled over, and a man and a woman, probably the drivers, were in a heated argument on the curb, pointing at their cars like it proved a bigger point. Then a bystander yelled, "Come on, just let her go. You know women can't drive!" The numbers tell a different story.

According to the NYS DMV motor vehicle crash data, between 2021 and 2024, male motor vehicle crash victims consistently outnumbered female victims by more than 100,000 each year.

In 2021, about 302,850 men were involved in crashes, compared to 192,461 women. In 2022, both numbers rose, with men reaching 314,431 and women 203,898, likely because more people were back on the roads after the pandemic. In 2023 and 2024, totals stayed relatively steady, with men at 310,526 and 312,671 respectively, and women at 199,298 and 196,792.

What stands out is how consistent the gap is. Year after year, the split barely changes, men make up roughly 60% of crash victims, while women make up about 40%.

The gap becomes even starker when looking at fatal crashes. In 2022, men accounted for 79.7% of crash deaths, compared to 20.3% for women. That share grew over the following years, 81.3% in 2021, 80.1% in 2023, and 83% in 2024.

The bigger question is why this pattern is so steady. If the gap has stayed this stable for four years, it suggests the underlying reasons have not changed much either.

What the data makes clear is that from 2021 through 2024, men were consistently more likely to be involved in a crash on New York's roads than women.

Does that mean women are better drivers? There could be other underlying factors for the crashes, which this data does not include. For instance, it's missing a lot of the context that would help explain the gap, including speeding, impairment, distraction, weather, road design, time of day, and traffic levels.