There are many stereotypes around good and bad drivers, Sometimes, however, there is data that shows just who is worst behind the wheel — or at least what kind of vehicles they own.
Using QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance, LendingTree analyzed data to determine which car brands have the best and worst drivers. Criteria included the most accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations.
The website wrote there indications certain car brands attract certain types of drivers.
“Most people who drive minivans seem more interested in getting their kids around town safely than they are in zipping around in a high-horsepower vehicle,” said Rob Bhatt, LendingTree insurance expert and a licensed insurance agent. He advised that “regardless of the vehicle you drive, it’s important to be responsible behind the wheel. If you look at crash statistics, you’ll see that speeding, impairment and distracted driving are among the leading causes of car crashes. These are all behaviors you can control.”
For its analysis, the financial website compared 30 vehicle brands nationwide from Nov. 14, 2022, until Nov. 14, 2023.
Ram
The worst drivers, the data showed, are those behind the wheel of a Ram truck. In fact, Ram had the worst drivers in nearly half the states (23), incurring 32.90 incidents per 1,000 drivers. In Georgia, the worst drivers were in a Ram, tallying 33.80 incidents per 1,000 drivers.
“Ram drivers finished in the top five among each of the four driving incidents analyzed,” LendingTree wrote. “Ram drivers had more speeding incidents per 1,000 drivers (4.42) than all the brands analyzed. They also had the second most accidents (22.76) and DUIs (1.72) and the fifth most citations (8.00).”
According to the site, the Ram 1500, which is on J.D. Power’s list of fastest pickups, can go from zero to 60 in 7.4 seconds. That might explain those speeding tickets.
Tesla
Coming in second overall was Tesla, with 31.13 incidents per 1,000 drivers. But Tesla drivers had the highest accident rate, 23.54 per 1,000 drivers.
Tesla makes several vehicles known for their performance. Four Tesla models are on Kelley Blue Book’s 2023 list of the 10 fastest electric cars.
In 2021, the U.S. government opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system. Two years later, Reuters reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked the automaker to explain a software change lets drivers keep their hands off the steering wheel longer than before, risking collisions.
Other findings
- Subaru drivers were third worst nationally, with 30.09 incidents and 20.90 accidents per 1,000 drivers.
- BMW drivers had the highest DUI rates, 3.13 per 1,000 drivers, which was nearly twice that of next highest Ram drivers.
- Mitsubishi (0.89), Volvo (0.92), and Kia drivers (0.93) had the lowest DUI rates.
You can read the full report on the Lending Tree website.
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