Mr Winter told the Bay of Plenty Times driving standards on Tauranga roads were in general "appalling", especially so with male drivers.
"Girls are more cautious. Girls take less risks and will think about things and analyse things more. Whereas boys are all bravado," he said.
"Once they get their licence, it's as if all they have learned goes out the window," Mr Winter said.
"It's taking risks and doing stupid things."
Mr Winter said he felt many of these drivers had been taught to drive by parents and then "left to fend for themselves".
"No wonder we have a high fatality rate for 16 to 18-year-olds."
The report showed the most represented five-year age group in at-fault drivers in Tauranga over the past five years was 15 to 19-year-olds.
Poor observation (not checking properly) was a factor in 47 per cent of all injury crashes on local state highways in this time. Failing to give way or stop was a factor in 22 per cent.
Tauranga police Inspector Karl Wright St-Clair said the report reflected national statistics.
"Young men are represented highly as risk-takers in all aspects of society, not just for their driving," Mr Wright St-Clair said.
"That's why most of our best male sports stars are in that age bracket - because they are pretty much fearless."
Mr Wright St-Clair said that was why television marketing such as the "Mantrol" adverts targeted young men especially.
Mr Wright St-Clair said these men needed to slow down, think about their actions and take a few breaths before putting themselves and others in a dangerous situations on the road.
Of all the fatal crashes in the Western Bay of Plenty so far this year, each driver involved was male.
Of the fatal and serious crashes taken into account in the report, most involved vehicles at-fault having no warrant of fitness. Vehicles with an expired WOF or more than 10 years old were also highly represented.
Tauranga City Council transportation operations manager Martin Parkes said while he expected men to have a higher representation than women in crashes, he did not anticipate the percentage to be as high as three-quarters, he said. "I would have thought it to be more like two-thirds."
Mr Parkes said he looked closer at the gender of people involved in crashes as part of his role with road safety in Tauranga, and men were "renowned" for their role in significant crashes.
He said education was key in helping curb the statistics.
"Certainly with male drivers between 16-24 years. That's where you have got those men who think they are invincible."
NZTA spokeswoman Glenda Dobbyn said the report was essentially a tool put together to help local councils to prioritise their road safety programmes. Ms Dobbyn would not answer why they detailed the gender difference for Tauranga.
Mike Noon, of the Automobile Association, suggested it was important to understand the amount of kilometres driven by the different sexes to allow comparable analysis.
