British women take longer to master the art of driving than men, but once the "L" plates are ditched, women are safer on the road, the AA motoring organization said on Friday.

The AA said women learner drivers on average take 14.6 months from starting to drive to passing the driving test compared with a year for men.

Women also need to take 2.12 tests to achieve success against a figure of 1.87 tests for men.

"It certainly isn't all bad news for women. Once they have passed they are recognized by insurance companies to be the safer drivers," the AA's Matt Beavis said.

The AA, which has over 1,700 driving instructors, said government data showed women's most common serious fault was reversing or turning in the road, accounting for 45 percent of all test fails, compared with 32 percent for men.

"Generally, men are more technically-minded and tend to pick up the practical skills more easily. Women, on the other hand, often interpret what they are taught and develop their own technique when putting it into practice, which may take a little more time," Linda Hatswell of AA driving school said.

(Agencies via Xinhua August 3, 2004)