Are you Riding Dirty?
When it comes to cars, a commonly-held belief is that red cars are pulled over more often. Some similar beliefs state that it’s convertibles, or sportier cars, or huge Hummers that are pulled over and ticketed the most. It really depends on who you ask as to what color, make, or model of vehicle really gets pulled over for speeding the most often. On the surface, this belief makes sense; if a police officer is sitting by the side of the road with a radar gun, they might find a speeding red convertible more memorable than a speeding silver sedan and thus be more likely to pull over the convertible.
Traffic Tickets Are Big Business
But all of you little red Corvette lovers can breathe a sigh of relief. There have been several studies conducted by groups such as Insurance.com and Quality Planning to test out the belief that red cars get the most tickets. The data they collected showed that red cars do not, in fact, receive the highest number of speeding tickets. In fact, there really was no particular color of car that got the most tickets; while there are a number of cars that are pulled over in higher numbers, their color had nothing to do with why they were stopped. For their study, Quality Planning looked at traffic violation data from 2009 through 2010. The number of violations were averaged out per 100,000 miles driven, and cars discontinued for more than ten years were not considered. “According to the results of the data analysis, the list of cars that were pulled over the most for speeding mainly consisted of luxury coupes and sedans, with a couple hatchbacks and one SUV rounding out the list. Conversely, 8 out of 10 of the least-pulled over cars were minivans and SUVs.”
What You’re Driving Matters
So why is there such a glaring difference in the makeup of these two lists? One important difference could be the number of passengers in a vehicle. SUVs and minivans are designed to carry more passengers, and it’s been shown that people will often alter the way they drive if they are carrying passengers, especially children. Another important factor noted in the study was the average age of the driver. When looking at the two cars that topped the list for receiving speeding tickets (The Mercedes-Benz SL Class Convertible and the Toyota Camry, respectively), the average age of drivers of both cars was about 50 years old. The third most ticketed vehicle, the Scion tC, had an average driver age of about 30. The cars are marketed as sleek and sporty vehicles, and the age groups who are drawn to them tend to be those groups that already drive fast. So when it comes to being pulled over, driver behavior and age are still the factors that lead to a speeding ticket, not the car or its color.If you’re pulled over and given a ticket for speeding in California, it’s important to know what your rights are and what you can do. One option you have is a discovery request, where you can look at the police department information pertaining specifically to your violation. Any discrepancies can increase your chances of successfully fighting a ticket. You may also wish to consult an attorney who specializes in traffic ticket cases.