For years, self-proclaimed car-buying gurus have cautioned their loved ones against buying red cars for fear of speeding tickets. See, some drivers believe that a red car is a top target for police officers. However, red isn’t the color that takes the top spot among total traffic citations. 

Though many drivers believe a red car makes them a target for police officers to pull over, white cars take the cake

Believe it or not, red car colors don’t top the list of hues with the greatest number of traffic stops. White cars take the top spot. CJ Pony Parts, a popular outfitter for the still-vibrant Ford Mustang, assembled data naming white cars as the highest percentage of total traffic citations. 

Specifically, white cars made up 19% of the total traffic citations by color. However, white cars also make up a much larger part of the market share than any other color. For instance, iSeeCars reports that white cars made up about 27.6% of new cars as of the 2023 American market. It’s a 12% increase over 19 years. 

However, red cars, historically touted as police magnets, represented about 16% of total traffic citations. While that’s not far from the 19% of white vehicles, red cars make up a much smaller portion of the total market. Since 2004, red cars have dropped in popularity by around 4.6%.

As such, while white cars take the top spot among traffic citations, they’re also the most popular car color in America. Still, red cars make up a disproportionate share of the car colors that police officers are pulling over more frequently.

Of course, before you go complaining of biases, there’s at least one glaring reason for the statistic. Specifically, red remains a popular color option for sports cars like the Mazda MX-5, Toyota GR86, and BMW Z4. And, you guessed it, sports cars tend to get pulled over by police officers more than other segments.