Don’t Walk Away From These Cars That Are Speeding Ticket Magnets, Run!
I’ll never forget the first time I borrowed a friend’s brightly colored Fiat 500. I pulled out and passed someone on a highway downhill. And then I heard the sirens. I got pulled over for doing…80 mph. The kicker is I had hit 80 mph on the same highway in my truck many times. I’d even passed police at that speed and received a polite nod.
Do fast drivers get tickets? Or do specific cars attract more police officers? There’s certainly an argument to be made for both sides. If you hit a certain speed, or if a cop is just out to write a ticket, you can get pulled over in anything. But the data shows some cars get many more tickets than others.
When Insurify offers drivers insurance quotes–on a specific make and model–it must ask for their driving history. According to the company, 7.1% of drivers report a recent speeding ticket. But some brands stand above the rest. Here are the top 10:
- Infiniti, 8.7%
- Scion, 8.4%
- Volkswagen, 8.3%
- Subaru, 8%
- Mazda, 7.7%
- Audi, 7.6%
- Kia, 7.6%
- Honda, 7.5%
- BMW, 7.4%
- Hyundai, 7.4%
Many of those brands make a ton of different cars. I don’t think the Kia Telluride is getting the most speeding tickets. Here’s the specific model, from each brand above, the drivers of which were most likely to have a recent speeding ticket.
- Infiniti G37 (10.7% of drivers reported a citation)
- Scion FR-S (13.7% of drivers reported a citation)
- Volkswagen Golf GTI (11.1% of drivers reported a citation)
- Subaru WRX (13.6% of drivers reported a citation)
- Mazda MX-5 Miata (9.2% of drivers reported a citation)
- Audi S4 (14.6% of drivers reported a citation)
- Kia Stinger (13.4% of drivers reported a citation)
- Honda S2000 (10.8% of drivers reported a citation)
- BMW i3 (17.6% of drivers reported a citation)
- Hyundai Genesis Coupe (13.4% of drivers reported a citation)
Is this data accurate? Why don’t Nissan Altimas–which always seem to pass me doing 90 mph–never get tickets? And what in the world is the BMW i3 doing on this list?
I honestly have more quesitons than answers. But the i3 may highlight a major problem with this data collection method. BMW owners upgrading to the hybrid i3 might have been quoting new insurance, and had to divulge a recent speeding ticket in their old car.
That said, we know drivers of these cars are ticket magnets. So needless to say, drive safe. But maybe also think twice about running a loud muffler on a bright blue WRX, because Johnny Law could see a target on your back.
Next, find out whether it’s actually legal for police to set up speed traps.