10 Most Ticketed Cars

The Matrix racked up 2.64 times more tickets than the national average, but this isn't the last we'll hear from Toyota. The automaker dominates the most-ticketed list, which San Francisco-based insurance analysts Quality Planning believes is a sign that Toyota's marketing has paid off. Along with the entire Scion lineup, the Matrix is aimed squarely at young drivers, who are also considered a bigger liability by insurance providers. "There's always been a clear correlation between younger drivers and violations," says QP's spokesperson Tim Cox. "These results just reinforce that."

Bing: More photos of the Toyota Matrix

There's no specific reason for the Audi A4 to make the top 10. It's not as powerful as the Mercedes that landed higher on the list. Neither is it as youth-baiting as the Scions. It's possible that the well-appointed A4's entry-level (for its category) price may have attracted just the right kind of driver — young for the luxury set, and eager to push this sedan's athletic performance to the limit. The result was 2.64 times more tickets than average, or roughly 0.6 violations per 100,000 miles, putting the tony A4 neck-and-neck with the considerably humbler Matrix.

Compare: Audi A4 vs. Infiniti G Sedan vs. Cadillac CTS

Bing: More photos of the Audi A4

Once again, there's no good reason, speculative or otherwise, for the Subaru Outback to be a ticket magnet. Could it be that this station wagon's legendary all-weather capability, and subsequent popularity in the frostier climes of New England, has provided state troopers with more opportunities to take winter drivers to task? Or maybe it's the fact that a speeding car is that much easier to spot with two mountain bikes jutting from the roof. The law enforcement officers we spoke to about this list remember stopping their share of Outbacks, but Motorcop, a California Highway Patrol officer who blogs anonymously at If You Got Stopped ... You Deserved It (http://motorcop.blogspot.com/), says, "There's no one kind of driver or car that gets stopped. [Bad] drivers drive all kinds of different cars."

Bing: More photos of the Subaru Outback

The xA's share of tickets — 2.75 times more than average — is another knock on younger drivers. With its sub-Corolla price tag and premium standard features (such as a CD player, MP3 jack and power windows and door locks), this hatchback was specifically targeted at first-time new-car buyers. But Motorcop, a California Highway Patrol officer who blogs anonymously at If You Got Stopped ... You Deserved It (http://motorcop.blogspot.com/), isn't buying the folly-of-youth stereotype: "The people I ticket run the gamut. I stop people in their 90s, and kids who got their license yesterday." His theory about the prevalence of Scions on this list? Toyota's marketing campaign, which has specifically targeted young urban drivers, as opposed to suburban ones. By concentrating a single brand in cities, Scions simply draw more tickets on the whole than the wide array of models cast off to kids by mothers and fathers in towns around the country.

Bing: More photos of the Scion xA

Finally, a most-wanted car with muscle. Supporting one of the driving world's biggest stereotypes, Mercedes CLS63 AMG drivers pick up 2.76 times more tickets than average. With 500 horses under the hood, power is the likeliest culprit, but the story might not be quite so simple. "To be honest, I think Mercedes is a status symbol," says Motorcop, a California Highway Patrol officer who blogs anonymously at If You Got Stopped ... You Deserved It (http://motorcop.blogspot.com/). "Most people aren't buying it for the performance. And when they get on the road, a lot of those drivers aren't ready for the power."

Compare: Mercedes CLS63 AMG vs. BMW 528i vs. Lexus GS 350

Bing: More photos of the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG

It's another of this list's great mysteries: Drivers of the Toyota Camry Solara are apparently ticketed roughly three times more than other drivers. Why the 2-door Solara coupe and not a standard Camry sedan, one of the most popular cars in the country? Coupes may be performance-oriented, but the Solara isn't aimed at young drivers. And with between 157 and 210 horsepower, it's not exactly a backup plan for the empty-nester Porsche crowd. "They're not particularly powerful, not particularly sporty," says Officer "Smith," a traffic officer who also blogs anonymously (http://officersmith.blogspot.com/). "They do come in a V6. People tend to drive them a little faster."

Bing: More photos of the Toyota Camry Solara

Officer "Smith," a traffic officer who also blogs anonymously (http://officersmith.blogspot.com/), doesn't keep records of which models he pulls over, but Mercedes tends to show up regularly. Again, it's not about a particular kind of freewheeling, Mercedes-targeted driver, but the power they're wrestling. "The younger guys in the Acuras and the rice rockets, those are the ones you catch going 30 over the speed limit," Officer "Smith" says. "With the Mercedes drivers, it's more like 10 or 20 mph over. They just let it get away from them a little bit." The result of all that unchecked power is 3.97 times more violations for the CLK63 AMG, and another reason to fear the Mercedes rapidly filling your rearview mirror.

Bing: More photos of the Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG

Aerodynamics be damned; the Scion xB proves that even the boxiest cars can get up to speed. And although he encounters college-aged drivers in xAs and tCs, in this case, Officer "Smith," a traffic officer who also blogs anonymously (http://officersmith.blogspot.com/), is skeptical of the "younger driver" theory. "That's not who I'm stopping in xBs," he says. "I see more people in their 50s and 60s, because you sit high up, and it's low to the ground, so it's easy to get in and out of." Officer Smith also points out that where he works as a traffic officer, speeding accounts for roughly one-third of moving violations. In other words, xB drivers could hate stop signs as much as the speed limit.

Bing: More photos of the Scion xB

The most nondescript of the Scions is also the biggest law-breaker, drawing 4.6 times more tickets than other models, and rounding out a particularly strong (or weak, depending on your perspective) showing for Toyota drivers. If it seems as if cops are targeting younger drivers — or any kind of driver or car, for that matter — Motorcop, a California Highway Patrol officer who blogs anonymously at If You Got Stopped ... You Deserved It (http://motorcop.blogspot.com/), begs to differ. "I've been accused of lots of things: You stopped me because of my age, my gender, my race," he says. "From 800 feet away, I can't make out what anyone's face looks like, or take the time to care what they're driving. I have 20 cars coming southbound at me, and my eye picks out the fastest object."

Compare: Scion tC vs. Honda Civic vs. Mazda Mazda3

Bing: More photos of the Scion tC

Despite initially strong sales, the Hummer has become an icon of American hubris, a cautionary tale of shortsighted design and conspicuous inefficiency. By topping this most-ticketed list, the Hummer invites a fresh volley of rotten tomatoes for its infamous drivers. "It might be that it's hard to see out of that car," says Quality Planning's Tim Cox. "Or it might be the fact that the person driving is very Type A, and is therefore more likely to be running afoul of the law." Motorcop, a California Highway Patrol officer who blogs anonymously at If You Got Stopped ... You Deserved It (http://motorcop.blogspot.com/), says he doesn't doubt that Hummer drivers might be predisposed to drive aggressively, but he says cops aren't gunning for them. "If you're driving your big, red Hummer, and you're tooling along at 40 mph, that's great. Have a nice day," Motorcop says. "If you're driving a '92 Hyundai Sonata at 85 mph, you and I are going to have a conversation."

Discuss:  Have you ever been stopped for a moving violation?

Bing: More photos of the Hummer H2 and the H3

Based out of the Boston area, Erik Sofge is frequent contributor to PopularMechanics and Slate.com. He specializes in everything scientific and technical.

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