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Which Cars Get the Most Traffic Tickets?

Posted by Soulskill on from the your-'84-buick-lesabre-is-probably-not-getting-you-into-trouble dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Have you ever been pulled over for a traffic stop and wondered if your sporty car was what caught the officer's attention? Ever had an officer pass up your clunker to snag a flashier vehicle? Well, there's now some data showing which vehicles accumulate the most tickets. According to a study by Insurance.com, drivers of the Subaru WRX, Pontiac GTO, and Scion FR-S get a higher percentage of tickets than drivers of any other cars. At the bottom of the list, we see vehicles such as the Ford Ecosport, the Land Rover LR4, and Chevy Sportvan. They have a widget that will let you see data on your own make/model, if you're curious.

12 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Before you even start by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Here is an important line from the (extremely short) article:

    "Cars don't get tickets, drivers do - but those drivers like the WRX," Insurance.com Managing Editor Des Toups noted in a statement about the study.

  2. correlation != causation by tverbeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Do they get tickets because they drive these vehicles, or do they drive these vehicles because they're the sort who get tickets?

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  3. Re:I have a Supra, and it's true by cshotton · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, being on that registered sex offender database is a bitch.

    --

    Shut up and eat your vegetables!!!
  4. well thank god im at the bottom of the list. by nimbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    I cant tell you how many times ive roared down the highway at the breakneck speed of 50 miles per hour in my 1996 Chevy Sportvan (pedal to the METAL baby, thats how i roll.) Its got all the markings of a classic hot rod, from the 48 foot turning radius to that sporty 6600 pound curb weight. and man ive got one heck of a lead foot in this autobahn racer so its good to know i dodged this bullet. I bet those cops have no clue about my high performance 33 gallon gas tank and optional school bus conversion (with sweet anti-lock braking too)

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  5. Re:#6, VW Rabbit? Really? by afidel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, it's a list of inexpensive sports cars and cheap cars that young drivers will be able to afford. The only one on that list that really stuck out to me was the Prius C, guess the younger demographic isn't as eco-conscious as the folks that bought the original Prius.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  6. Re:Study is quite incomplete by StripedCow · · Score: 4, Funny

    Indeed, the study should be extended with statistics of which *phone brand* gets the most traffic tickets.

    --
    If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
  7. Re:Study is quite incomplete by Skater · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I lost faith when I saw this entry:

    Mercury Topaz – 28.8%

    A small family sedan that hasn't been made since 1994 still hits #7 in getting the most tickets? It's the Mercury version of the Ford Tempo, which didn't make the top 20 at all. And I'd be willing to bet Ford sold a lot more Tempos than they did Topazs...

  8. Re:Study is quite incomplete by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Looks like they are the car models that are mostly driven by younger drivers. I would guess that explains most of it.

  9. Re:Moire expensive car, richer driver, that's FINE by James-NSC · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Actually, it's quite the opposite, right up to the economic collapse I owned my own business (infosec consultancy for government agencies & T1 infrastructure) and had picked up a Seven Series BMW (which, for their high end +$80K car loses it's value quickly so it becomes affordable to most of us just a few years later) and I found, while driving that "luxury sedan" my LEO experiences were 180 from what they are now, post economic collapse in a beat up ol 95 civic.
    • - I never got any "superfluous" tickets (no proof of any documentation, insurance/registration) as, on both occasions, the officer said something along the lines of "people who own these types of cars always have it, no need to prove it sir
    • - I was always called "sir" and treated with the utmost respect without exception - even when one officer found a mandible on my console which caused her to step back, put her hand on her service weapon and ask me "what is that?!" it had fallen off as it usually sits on my rear-view mirror as a talisman (ala Roland Deschain)
    • - I was found passed out drunk behind the wheel, motor running and wasn't given a ticket but instead the officer called my friend, woke him up and had him come get me (that was a double down of cool cop and that he was only there because some worry wort thought I was a stalker, but instead had left a friends party when it was over & was too drunk to drive so I fell asleep in my car) - but still, in a civic, I'm sure i'd be booked for a DUI for being in the drivers seat w/ the engine running
    • - I even crashed it once when I inadvertently turned off the traction control earlier in the day, no ticket, the cop just commiserated with me about what a shame it was to have smashed up such a nice car and that he wasn't "going to add any more to my already bad day"

    Conversely, I was driving a VW Rabbit (old) with expired out of state plates, but still within the month they expired (both states - source & destination - allow you to drive the car in the month it expires) and I was pulled out of the car, by two officers *at gun point* (later, according to them, no one had reported anything, but the fact that I was in an old car, with expired plates was very suspicious) they even shouted asking if I had any tattoos, and I said "yes, on my leg" and they replied
    "show us"
    "I can't do that without dropping my pants officer!"
    "drop 'em"
    and there I was, pants around my ankles in the parking lot of a 7-11 late at night with two small town cops pointing their guns at me. I *know* they wouldn't have done that had I been driving a BMW 745i - drastically different experiences, all based on the make/model of the car.

  10. Re:Scion marketed to, trimmed for younger, less ca by habig · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Scion is marketed to younger people and trimmed a bit hotter. The Subaru is marketed to older people and has things like heated seats and automatic climate control.

    The WRX? That's the rally car version with an amazing power/weight ratio and all wheel drive to get that power to the rubber. Not exactly the Oldsmobile demographic.

    FWIW, heated seats match up well with all wheel drive, you're living in a snowy place if you buy this car, regardless of age.

  11. Who drives $2,500 used sports cars? Teen boys by raymorris · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > TFA was bullshit when I saw the Supra on the list ranked at #4 (and the 3000 GT at #17).
    > They stopped making both of those cars well over 10 years ago

    So they are sporty cars that are ten years old and now worth about $2,500. What kind of driver with $2,500 to spend on a car buys something sporty? Teenage boys, maybe?

    Would teenage boys who drive sports cars be more likely to get tickets that a soccer mom in a minivan?

  12. Re:Study is quite incomplete by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

    I lost faith when I saw this entry:

    Mercury Topaz – 28.8%

    A small family sedan that hasn't been made since 1994 still hits #7 in getting the most tickets?

    You misunderstood the data. The Topaz did NOT get the 7th most tickets. It got the 7th most tickets per car. So if there are few of them left around, just a few tickets could skew the statistics.