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Gender and age have been linked to crash type and injury severity.

Researchers from Kansas State University examined car accident data involving drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 from 2007 to 2011.

The study revealed several differences in the types of crashes between young men and women. Researchers found that young women were 66 percent more likely to wear seat belts compared to their male counterparts. Young women were also 28 percent more likely to drive on a restricted license than young men.

While young women experienced more crashes at intersections and collisions with pedestrians, the study revealed that young men got into more accidents at night.

The study also showed that young female drivers were significantly more likely to be involved in crashes during weekdays and young male drivers were significantly more likely to be involved in accidents during the weekend.

Researchers also found that young male drivers had more off-road crashes than young females.

"These findings show that gender differences do exist in young drivers when it comes to safety," researcher Sunanda Dissanayake, professor of civil engineering at Kansas State University said in a news release. "That makes sense because crashes are random events."

"There are often different risk factors for young male and young female drivers because their behavior and attitude are generally different," Dissanayake added. "This may help explain why one gender is more likely to be involved in a certain type of crash. For example, young males may have more off-road crashes because this crash type is more frequently involved with speeding on rural roads - a driving habit exhibited more by young males than young females."

"Age is one of the most important factors of highway safety, and crash data shows that young drivers and older drivers are involved in more crashes than any other age group," Dissanayake said. "For young drivers, this is especially concerning because people in this age group have their whole lives ahead of them and these crashes are frequently severe or fatal."

The latest findings were published in the Journal of Safety Research.