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This is a long standing belief and a question where I would’ve guessed “yes” but it turns out another myth has been busted by the folks at Snopes.
When asked why red cars would be ticketed more frequently than other colors, here are some common explanations people give:
1) Red cars are brighter and more noticeable, so they draw attention.
2) Red creates an illusion that the car is traveling faster than it really is.
3) Red is a common color for a sports car and someone driving a sports car is more likely to speed.
The third explanation is the one I would’ve believed. But there doesn’t appear to be a study to back this up. And the Snopes editors referenced a survey done by a reporter at the St. Petersburg Times. The results of his survey of 1128 cars and the records of 924 speeding violations showed no significant difference in the percentage of red cars on the road (14%) and the percentage of tickets given to red car owners (16%).
It would be interesting to see this study done on a much larger scale. So, go get that red sports car you’ve always wanted and when you get your first ticket, blame Snopes, not us.
Comments (5)
Comment
I do believe that theory! My husband and I own a red four door dually - it’s a beautiful truck. I have been pulled over twice - not because of speeding tho. Apparently it’s not legal in PA to have tinted glass (as it is in TN where we bought the truck) - in either case I was not speeding. I totally agree with # 1) Red cars are brighter and more noticeable, so they draw attention. We can’t go anywhere without someone saying - “I saw you”.
posted by Kim on 10-23-2006 at 1:26 pm
For 23 years, I had the distinct pleasure of driving a red and black 1957 Morgan Plus Four. Now for those younguns who aren’t familiar with these venerable British sports cars, they are rather attractive and, in fact, the oldest car company in the world that remains owned entirely by the founding family (1908). Anyway, my experience in tooling around Vancouver in my ‘Moggie’ is that it did indeed have incredible attention-grabbing power, it also possessed an uncanny attribute that allowed me to escape from at least a dozen traffic violation tickets simply because the car was too damn cute to ticket, red or not! I do remember however, racing along among a Corvette, a Mercedes and a pair of Mustangs, up I101 on the Califonia coast between San Diego and LA years ago. A friendly Highway Patrol guy pulled us all over at once and grilled us for 30 minutes after ticketing all of us. Quite a thrill actually. Ah, to be young and brain-dead. Pic of my dear old Moggie is being emailed to y’all t at the Floss as I write:) Red racers forever eh!
posted by Alan on 10-23-2006 at 3:49 pm
I have also been told people who have ‘vanity plates’ get pulled over more often… So, what happens if you have a red car with ‘vanity plates’? I shudder to think how busy the cops would be in a town full of red, vanity-plated cars!
posted by Christine on 10-23-2006 at 6:35 pm
My wife and I just bought a red Hyundai (see, a non-sports car to offer some counterpoint), and were pulled over in the morning when she was speeding down the street, and sped past (on the left, on an unmarked/non-lane-divided neighborhood street) the giant SUV that turned out to be a police vehicle. But we were not ticketed.
Also, we saw a story on 20/20 debunking this myth, as well. They referenced a study that showed a *lower* ticketing rate for red cars compared to their portion of the vehicle population. That may be on a larger scale, or at least a different population than the St Petersburg Times study.
posted by Hugonauts on 10-23-2006 at 7:06 pm
Great stories, folks. Thanks!
posted by Will on 10-23-2006 at 7:43 pm