Which Cars Draw the Most Tickets?

Source: msn.com

A yearlong study identifies the vehicle -- and it's a big one -- whose drivers get ticketed the most. The research suggests that what you drive may indicate how you drive.

<cite>By MSN Money staff</cite>

Drivers of Hummer SUVs were 4.63 times more likely to get a traffic ticket than the average driver, concludes a yearlong study by a company that helps insurers identify risks.

ISO Quality Planning, the San Francisco company that studied the records of 1.7 million drivers, compiled a list of ticket magnets that confirmed some long-held notions: Owners of the 507-horsepower Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG and similarly muscular CLK63 AMG received outsized numbers of tickets, as did the generally young owners of the relatively inexpensive Scion tC, xB and xA, and the Audi A4 sports sedan.

But also on that most-ticketed list were the Subaru Outback and the Toyota Camry Solara and Matrix, three cars not known for great speed or expressing the rebellious nature of their owners. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, virtually identical mechanically to their General Motors sibling Hummer, appeared on the least-ticketed list.

Sharing the bottom of the list? Buicks, minivans and pickups.

'Sense of power'
Sales of Hummers fell 51% in 2008. Analysts at ISO Quality Planning were more than willing to pile on.

"The sense of power that Hummer drivers derive from their vehicle may be directly correlated with the number of violations they incur," said Raj Bhat, the president of ISO Quality Planning. "Or perhaps Hummer drivers, by virtue of their driving position, are less likely to notice road hazards, signs, pedestrians and other drivers."

What ISO Quality Planning believed the data show about Toyota drivers was unclear from its news release.

Insurance claims data generally back up ISO Quality Planning's findings. Ratings information from State Farm, for instance, advises Hummer owners to expect to pay significantly higher than standard premiums for liability. Likewise, Scion owners typically face much higher than standard rates for comprehensive and collision insurance. (You can see how your car compares here.)
<table><caption>
What's radar bait (and isn't):</caption><tbody><tr><th>Most-ticketed*</th><th>Rate</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><th>Least-ticketed*</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><th>Rate</th></tr><tr><td>Hummer H2/H3
</td><td>463%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Jaguar XJ sedan
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>11%
</td></tr><tr><td>Scion tC
</td><td>460%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Chevrolet Suburban
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>16%
</td></tr><tr><td>Scion XB
</td><td>403%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Chevrolet Tahoe
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>21%
</td></tr><tr><td>Mercedes Benz CLK63 AMG
</td><td>397%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Chevrolet C/K- 3500/2500 pickup
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>28%
</td></tr><tr><td>Toyota Solara Coupe
</td><td>306%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Buick Park Avenue
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>32%
</td></tr><tr><td>Mercedes Benz CLS63 AMG
</td><td>276%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Mazda6
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>34%
</td></tr><tr><td>Scion XA
</td><td>275%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Buick Rainier
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>37%
</td></tr><tr><td>Subaru Outback
</td><td>266%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Oldsmobile Silhouette
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>37%
</td></tr><tr><td>Audi A4
</td><td>264%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>Buick Lucerne
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>40%
</td></tr><tr><td>Toyota Matrix
</td><td>264%
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>GMC Sierra C1500 pickup
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">
</td><td>40%
</td></tr></tbody></table>
*Violations per 100,000 miles driven, expressed as percentage of average.

I guess that ruins my theory that they're always after my Mustang!

I think it's more about WHO is driving the cars.


Scions are usually driven by people in their teens and early 20s.

Buicks are driven by octogenarians.
Small wonder that scions get more tickets.

I also don't think the driving position explains Hummer. Suburbans also have high driving positions, but they are at the bottom of the list. It's more likely that Hummers are just driven by asshats.


Frankly, i think insurance companies are making some bad inferences when pricing insurance. Sure, scions in general are more likely to be in wrecks. But it does not follow that Person X is more likely to wreck in a Scion than in a Buick.

Go Mazda6!

HAHA, my last two tickets were in my Mazda5, not my fairly bright RED and very loud Mustang

In all honesty, this is pretty skewed. While there may be some correlation between the type of car driven, there are much larger correlatioins between the type of person driving the car and the number of a particular car on the road. I'm willing to bet the tC and the Camry are up there simply because there are so many on the road. If 75% of the cars that drive by a cop or Camry's, tC's, etc. then most certainly they are more likely to get ticketed.

Every ticket has been in my mustang... not a single one driving the faster speed 6

But I agree with the statement above that it probably has to do with how many camry's, scions etc. are on the road and the third statement about the kind of people driving it.

Obviously it depends on the driver (H2/H3 owners with their inferiority complexes, for instance) but that isn't to say there is no merit to these findings.

nealric said:

I think it's more about WHO is driving the cars.


Scions are usually driven by people in their teens and early 20s.

Click to expand...

Not true. You have the 20 somethings buying them and then the 50-60 somethings buying them as well. Thats what makes the average owner of a scion like 35, very swayed stat.

Gmac

magnumP5 said:

In all honesty, this is pretty skewed. While there may be some correlation between the type of car driven, there are much larger correlatioins between the type of person driving the car and the number of a particular car on the road. I'm willing to bet the tC and the Camry are up there simply because there are so many on the road. If 75% of the cars that drive by a cop or Camry's, tC's, etc. then most certainly they are more likely to get ticketed.

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Most likely one of the lowest ticket numbers will be a Ferrari or Lambo but that is only because there is such a small amount of them.

Ha! Mazda6 is on the list and not the RX-8.

(Knocks on wood that he's never been pulled over since he's owned his VR 8.)

Not true. You have the 20 somethings buying them and then the 50-60 somethings buying them as well. Thats what makes the average owner of a scion like 35, very swayed stat.

Gmac

Click to expand...

If that's the case, it still wouldn't make any difference since there are still a large number of young people driving the cars.

Pretty interesting, kinda cool to see how the MS3 compares too.

nealric said:

If that's the case, it still wouldn't make any difference since there are still a large number of young people driving the cars.

Click to expand...

Yeah I wasn't trying to argue with you just bring up that OLD people are in that mix too, not to upset any really old people on this forum.

Gmac

link to the original article maybe?

I'm surprised the forester isn't on the list of least ticketed. Cops basically ignore my family wagon.

LOL @ the Hummer. So, your car is butt ugly and on top they are more prone to be ticketed (scratch)

MikesMazda5 said:

HAHA, my last two tickets were in my Mazda5, not my fairly bright RED and very loud Mustang

Click to expand...

Yeah, remember that. I'm telling ya, those cars scream speed, LOL

Original article here.

I'm surprised that the WRX/STI and the Evo isn't on that list.

you guys have to look at the precents. the tickets are based on 100,000 miles driven so it is all equal