bagwell

The Subaru WRX may be an all-wheel drive sport-compact, but the drivers of this car are either driving too fast, or having difficulty parking: It receives the most violations of any vehicle.

More than one-in-three drivers of the Subaru WRX has had a recent traffic violation, according to data on 526 models from more than 557,000 recent customers released Tuesday by Insurance.com, a car insurance comparison website. Making it three times to the Top 20 most ticketed cars, the Scion was the car brand with the most violations.

It’s no surprise that the list includes other sporty cars like the Mitsubishi 3000 GT and Scion FR-S, says Des Toups, managing editor of Insurance.com, but it also name-checks the hybrid Toyota TM, -0.49% Prius C, three sport-utility vehicles and even the now-defunct Mercury Topaz. But he doesn’t attribute the ticketing to green-eyed traffic cops. “Cars don’t get tickets, drivers do,” he says.

The number of violations may have more to do with the age of the drivers, says Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “These cars all appeal to a younger demographic and many of them skew heavily male,” he says. “Of course, young male drivers typically take the most risks and garner the most tickets, or are involved in the most accidents.”

In fact, the risk profile of younger drivers is reflected in their insurance costs. Adding a male teenager hikes premiums by an average of 92%, while female teen drivers hike premiums by 67%, according to a insuranceQuotes.com, a division of personal finance site Bankrate.com. The older their child becomes, the lower the premium: It falls from 96% for 16-year-olds to 58% for 19-year-olds.

And speed is not the only issue. The Chevrolet GM, +1.28% Corvette, Dodge FIATY, -2.58% Viper and Nissan 7201, -1.87% GT-R rank well below average for tickets even though they can easily double the highest speed limits, Toups says. But they’re also costly, “so their buyers tend to be older and take fewer risks.”

Around 20% of drivers reported having a traffic violation — usually speeding but also other offenses such as failure to yield and drunken driving — within the last three years. And when setting rates on particular vehicles, Toups says insurance companies pay more attention to claims than tickets. Accidents help drive up the rates of everyone who owns that car, he says. “Tickets tend to drive up your rates alone.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the...?siteid=yhoof2

bagwell

#4 Toyota Supra ???????

LOL @ #20 ...def not for speeding

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Most surprising to me is #7, Mercury Topaz. Maybe I'm not seeing them because they're all in police impound yards, but didn't they stop making them 20 years ago? I haven't seen one in 10 years I'd guess.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I had to look up what the Mercury Topaz is, lol.

that2JZguy

Had my Supra over seven years now. Been pulled over 10+ times for speeding, no front plate, loud exhaust. Never ticketed once.

bagwell

one hawt car LOL

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

I had to look up suzuki reno

and NO bmw whatsoever???

Stormwind

Definitely not "Most in America" but more of a regional stat from a regional insurance company based on only 557k customers, and most of those customers drive a model listed in the charts.

Now it would be interesting if they release a stat from all major insurance co. to see who the top ticketed models are I bet we would see camrys, ford explorers, accords make it in the top 10.

mmarshall

It was the Ford Tempo's corporate twin. Dave is right....it hasn't been in production for at least a couple of decades or more.

mmarshall

One of several Daewoo-designed vehicles that were formerly sold under the Suzuki nameplate, along with the Forenza and Verona.

Agreed....suprising.

And no Ford Mustang V8s? That is equally surprising. In general, though there are some decent ones, speaking solely from my experience, Mustang V8 jocks are the worst drivers of all. Over the years (I've posted about this before) I've seen more kids and young adults hurt or killed in V8 Mustangs than any other single vehicle. Something about that car just addicts young people to aggressive driving.

LexBob2

Another soon to be forgotten list....

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

From the source survey you can look up your own car, or see summarized by Make

http://www.insurance.com/auto-insura...t-tickets.html

Viewed by Make
1 SCION 27.6%
2 SUBARU 24.7%
3 RAM 24.6%
4 VOLKSWAGEN 23.6%
5 SAAB 23.1%
6 MAZDA 22.3%
7 EAGLE 21.8%
8 MINI 21.8%
9 VOLVO 21.7%
10 JEEP 21.3%
11 PONTIAC 21.2%
12 NISSAN 21.1%
13 INFINITI 20.9%
14 HYUNDAI 20.8%
15 KIA 20.8%
16 SATURN 20.6%
17 LEXUS 20.6%
18 HONDA 20.5%
19 MITSUBISHI 20.4%
20 FIAT 20.3%
21 DODGE 20.0%
22 MERCEDES-BENZ 20.0%
23 BMW 20.0%
24 TOYOTA 20.0%
25 SUZUKI 19.9%
26 ALFA ROMEO 19.6%
27 FORD 19.4%
28 CHEVROLET 19.4%
29 ACURA 19.3%
30 OLDSMOBILE 18.9%
31 MERCURY 18.9%
32 GMC 18.5%
33 LINCOLN 18.4%
34 GEO 18.3%
35 CHRYSLER 18.3%
36 PLYMOUTH 17.8%
37 AUDI 17.4%
38 PORSCHE 17.3%
39 ISUZU 16.4%
40 BUICK 16.1%
41 CADILLAC 16.0%
42 JAGUAR 15.2%
43 HUMMER 14.4%
44 LAND ROVER
45 SMART 13.1%
46 DAEWOO 9.9%
47 DCX 3.8%


Their methodology isn't quite scientific, you had to be interested in shopping in your insurance at insurance.com to be in the results. Makes for interesting conversation though.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

You know how I know the list is baloney?




Because there is no Honda.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

honda drivers are great

it's funny to see prius on the list, it must be for cell phone, parking, seat belts, etc...

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Wait no Mustang or BMW's?? hah