Police and road safety officers studied crashes involving drivers aged 17 to 21 and said there were huge differences in driving ability between the sexes.

Looking at accidents over the past two years, they said the biggest variations were in speed related crashes and not giving way to other vehicles.

But they warned that women's habits were slowly becoming more like men's.

Hull City Council road safety officer Mark Jessop said everyone knew women were better drivers than men but for young drivers the difference was astounding.

"From this research, there doesn't seem to be anything that young male drivers can do as well as their female counterparts," he said.

But Anna Walker, from Humberside Police, said an increase in the number of young women being arrested for drink or drug driving showed they should not be overconfident.

"A minority of young women appear to want to throw away their advantage and show the same stupidity and aggression as some male drivers," she said.