Sorry, guys, but it’s true. Women in Smyrna do tend to have lower auto insurance rates than you do. There are proven reasons for this phenomenon, but there is good news for all you men out there, too. You can learn from the gals.

Here are three of the reasons your wife or girlfriend’s auto insurance rates are lower than yours:

1. She’s not as likely to speed. In fatal accidents, men were almost twice as likely to have been speeding as women. While women can—and do—put the pedal to the metal, men are still more often than not the speeders.

From an auto insurance standpoint, a man is more likely to cause an accident resulting in an insurance payout. Females, with their lower driving speeds, enjoy lower rates because they are a lower risk for the insurance company.

Take a cue from Smyrna women and ease off the gas pedal; remember that speeding tickets raise insurance rates. While you may have a higher starting rate, you can avoid increasing that rate by avoiding tickets and accidents caused by speeding.

2. She’s less likely to have an accident . . . and get hurt in that accident. The statistics don’t lie. Women are less likely to be involved in an accident, and are more likely to wear their seat belts. These two facts result in lower auto insurance rates for women.

Accidents cost insurance companies money, and men are more likely to be the cause of that cost. Added to that, accidents with injuries require an even larger payout. If a man is more likely to be in an accident and less likely to wear his seat belt, he will cost the auto insurance company more money if or when an accident occurs. Therefore, his rate will be higher because his risk is higher.

Drive defensively and carefully, and always buckle up, and you can prevent your rates from rising even more.

3. She’s far less likely to get a DUI. Men are considerably more likely to drink and drive than women are, both in Smyrna and nationwide. Maybe it’s because of a man’s perceived higher tolerance to alcohol or because of more testosterone in his body, but in 2010, almost a half a million more men were arrested for driving while intoxicated than women.

Because drinking and driving leads to tickets, arrests, wrecks, injuries, and deaths, auto insurance companies have to build a safety net for themselves by charging higher rates for male drivers. To protect yourself and your budget, always have a designated driver or use a cab when you’re enjoying a night on the town. You’ll stay safe and keep your auto insurance rates from going up even more.

Take a few pages from your gal’s playbook, and you might just find yourself to be a safer driver. Remember, being a safer driver means you’ll save more money!