Which Car Models Are Your Ticket to Traffic Court?
CARS.COM — If you hope your Lexus ES 300 makes you more attractive, you’re right. Police radar loves it. According to a new survey by insurance-rates comparison website Insurance.com, the ES 300 sedan is the top “ticket magnet.”
Related: Which States Have the Highest, Lowest Car Theft Rates?
The study showed that one-third of Lexus ES 300 (last seen for the 2003 model year) and 300h (still in production as of 2016) received citations for traffic violations (tying percentage-wise with the Nissan 350Z at No. 2). That was enough to unseat last year’s violations victor: all-wheel-drive, cheap-speed favorite the Subaru Impreza WRX, falling all the way down to No. 12 with a 30 percent citation rate. Insurance.com examined claims data and traffic violations for 331 models and more than 323,000 motorists between January 2014 and this month.
And while it may seem like it’s always some dude in a BMW cutting you off in traffic, Insurance.com’s analysis shows that drivers of luxury vehicles are not to blame nearly as often as drivers of non-luxury vehicles (or at least not caught as often). Non-luxury models comprise 80 percent of the top 20 most-ticketed cars, while luxury vehicles comprise 80 percent of the least-ticketed.
“While the most frequently ticketed vehicles include a variety of economy and luxury cars, the cars with the lowest percentage of tickets are generally more expensive vehicles,” researchers concluded.
Moreover, heavy-footed or otherwise reckless drivers aren’t just costing themselves money, they’re driving up costs for everyone else who drives that same model since frequently ticketed drivers also tend to file more insurance claims, Insurance.com stated.
“Insurance companies often pay more attention to claims than they do to traffic tickets when setting rates,” Insurance.com explained. “Car models with high insurance claim rates can result in higher premiums for everyone owning those vehicles. Violation tickets drive up the individual coverage costs for the person who receives the citation.”
The top 20 most-ticketed vehicles for 2016 are as follows:
20. Chevrolet Tahoe K1500
19. Mazda3 i
18. Ford Fusion S
17. Lincoln LS
16. Chevrolet Malibu 2LT
15. Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic
14. Subaru Impreza 2.5i
13. Lexus LS 400 Series
12. Subaru Impreza WRX
11. Mazda Tribute
10. Toyota Tacoma
9. Acura CL/TL/RL
8. Dodge Stratus SXT
7. Volkswagen GTI
6. Mazda3 s
5. Chevrolet Monte Carlo LS/LT
4. Volkswagen Jetta GL
3. Dodge Charger SE/SXT
2. Nissan 350Z
1. Lexus ES 300/300h
The top 10 least-ticketed vehicles are:
10. Land Rover Range Rover
9. BMW 320i
8. Audi A3 2.0T
7. GMC Savana
6. Cadillac Escalade
5. Chevrolet Express
4. Cadillac ATS
3. Acura ILX
2. Lexus IS 350
1. Buick Encore
