You can see today’s Ask up there, and the obvious answer is “the one you’re doing crime in” or “the one with an APB.” But since you are all 100% law-abiding individuals, let’s go a little deeper and consider which cars are inherently more likely to get the attention of law enforcement, assuming you aren’t doing anything more nefarious than, say, going 65 in a 55.
In my experience, truly shitty shitboxes tend to be cop magnets. I don’t know why this is. It’s like the police are saying, “Everyone is going ten over, who do I nab? This guy looks poor, but he could be poorer” (Flips on blue lights). Fifteen minutes later, the $200 you were saving for school books is instead going to a baloney ticket. And you’re late for class. I do not miss those days.
Some of you might say the flashier and sportier your car is (or Corvettier, based on the topshot), the more likely you are to get pulled over. That feels true, and I can confirm that I got way more tickets driving my red Mustang GT than I did in any other car ever, by like a lot, but I was also speeding constantly, so fair.
I attempted to Google “What cars are more likely to get pulled over” and got an AI Overview because you can’t turn that shit off:
OK, so A. settle down, WRX drivers, and B. those are all cars that encourage and reward “spirited driving,” and cops hate that, but also C. the Mazda 3? Zoom-zoom, I guess. Gotta admit, I got a little hoony when I rented one.
My Google search also turned up this informative Reddit thread in r/AskLE: Are there certain vehicles you are more inclined to pull over?
Therein, an actual Deputy Sheriff commented,
I’m more inclined to pull vehicles over whose drivers are committing traffic violations than I am vehicles whose drivers are not committing traffic violations.
And if certain model/color cars get pulled over more often it’s not a cause/effect relationship. It’s more likely it’s because the people who drive certain types of cars with certain paint schemes are more likely to commit traffic violations than the person driving their kids around in a minivan.
… aaaand he’s probably right, but what comes first: the behavior, which lends one to a certain type of car, or does the car come first, and it warps the driver? I feel like having 400+ horsepower Mustang after owning cars with max outputs of less than 150 horsepower broke my brain a little, TBH.
You all figure it out. Which cars are most likely to catch police attention just by existing? Which cars encourage drivers to be a little fast (literally) and loose with the rules of the road? See you in the comments.
Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com
Any car with a ZOSO sticker.
https://theonion.com/led-zeppelin-bumper-stickers-now-probable-cause-for-veh-1819565209/
White Chevy Express cargo van with free candy sticker on door.
In some jurisdictions they’d give you a motorcade.
In my experience I was pulled over more when I was younger, but I’ve also noticed that as I’ve gotten older (and the cars I drive nicer), I’m far less likely to get away with a warning.
Can confirm the Mazda 3, speaking from experience. Since I work third, I tend to make the roadtrip home for the holidays overnight so I don’t screw my sleep schedule since I typically have to work from “home” a couple days while there. I got pulled over in another state doing the same speed as traffic and was pretty confused. Later, a friend of mine had mentioned it to his sister who used to be a cop in that state, and upon telling her what I drive and when it happened, she said “oh, yeah, they just assume cars like that at that time of night are running drugs. Pretty common there, so that’s probably why he was pulled over.”
Guess that’s just a thing in some southern states?
a stolen cop car
FTR I’ve never been pulled over in my WRX
rental cars with out of state license plates. had it happen to myself on a business trip once. that cop knew i wasn’t going to go back there to contest the ticket even though it was bullshit and he wasn’t willing to show me the speed gun.
Oh, yeah, defenders of cops will say that they’re just looking out for possible drug smugglers carrying contraband across state lines. Right…
Given how so many cops are just outright bullies they actually enjoy and relish the thought of potentially ruining someone’s vacation or causing more stress for someone on a work-related trip.
(Reminded of how recently, when Eric Adams, a former cop, was still mayor of NYC, a relative and her bf were staying with friends in NYC; they drove their car up from the South so they had out of state plates. They had parked their car in the middle of a long line of cars at the curb during legal parking times but their car was the only car to get a parking ticket despite being just as legally parked as the other cars all of which had local plates; they were given to understand that it was common for LE to ticket only the cars with out of state plates because LE figured the victims wouldn’t be able to come back and successfully contest the tickets plus they relished the prospect of spoiling out-of-towners’ experiences.)
it didn’t help that I’m asian and my audit staff was a brown dude of middle eastern roots even though we are both Americans with perfect english. This was somewhere driving through Maryland back to DC, and the cop’s first question was what brings you here, as if I would be there for any other reason other than business lol. What a dickhead.
i’m a little surprised Ai didn’t mention 350zs, G35s, and anything else with a VQ
my white dodge caravan is responsible for 5/5 out of my past speeding tickets
i should not be allowed to have more than 105 horsepower
In my youth driving back and forth to university on the weekends in 1990’s Michigan I always followed this plan. I would cruise at the speed limit until a Corvette, Mustang, or Camaro blew by going 80 – 85. I would then tail them about a 1/4 mile back in my burgundy Cavalier Wagon and watch for brake lights. That saved me at least a 1/2 dozen tickets.
I was only pulled over once in that wagon at it was at 1 am in the city driving to work (30 in a 25.). On the other hand the custom painted purple Jimmy I had before it racked up 5 tickets. Only 2 on motorcycles somehow.
That’s still my take-advantage-of-it-if-it-appears expressway driving strategy – if a rabbit comes on the scene, let them spring any traps. Just be sure to stay far enough behind so you’re not the one who gets pulled over due to closer proximity to the cop when they pull out.
I was driving in SC in my former red 300ZX and I noticed what appeared to be a Crown Vic sitting in the middle of a bridge over I-85 with no other traffic that would required him to do so. I slowed down. As I got closer, I could see the trooper checking speeds on oncoming vehicles with some sort of measuring device.
Once under the bridge, I could see that once past the bridge there were 10 more state troopers and if they wanted you to pull over, they just pointed at your car and motioned for you to pull to the side of the interstate. Every single person around me got the signal, except me, the red sports car driver who was paying attention.
I drove pony cars most of my life and never got pulled over. However, I limited my spirited driving to twisty country roads, even when young. I never saw the fun in driving fast in heavy traffic. FWIW, every single time I was challenged to race I was driving a Mustang.
Same with my Mustang…when she was new that is; then, it seemed like every other Camaro would rev at me at stoplights.
Somehow, I’ve never been pulled over in my red 986 Boxster. But I did get two speeding tickets in my former Kia Soul…
Almost any 2-door car with a V8 and a stick-shift.
At least for me.
I got pulled over quite a bit in my S13. I was pulled over on a test drive when I was trying to sell it. I was also pulled over by a tall state trooper in NH. I was looking out the window at his junk (it was glorious). When he squatted down to see my wife and I in our 4 point harnesses, he noticed the camera attached to the roll bar. I was LE myself at the time so no ticket. But the look on the guy’s face was worth the inconvenience of a traffic stop.
The most I got pulled over was probably in a 3rd gen Firebird or Camaro. I had a few, they were all blue. I was young and working in a restaurant where I would be going home at 2-4am. I’m pretty sure they were just pulling me over out of boredom, but I was by the side of the road at least twice per week.
I would say the last generation Toyota Celica. Remember those commercials? In one an old man yells at a parked one, “Slow Down. This is a neighborhood!” and in another, a motorcycle cop calls for a parked Celica to pull over…
I loved the one where a dog was chasing a parked Celica and ran into the back of it. Thud! “Looks fast. Even standing still.”
I love that gen Celica for its mini exotic look, but the body kit featured on the cars in those ads was just too much for me. It’s definitely one of those cars that looks much better w/o the spoiler.
Anything with a grandfather clock sticking out, and going Way too slow.
Well Ron White tells a story about being pulled over in a speed trap. He said they were pulling everyone over that just happened to be driving on that particular sidewalk. Watcha gonna do?
I’ve never been pulled over when it wasn’t justified. Well one time when I registered my car and it wasn’t entered in the system but it was cleared up. But boy have I been cut some breaks just for treating the cop like a decent person, extra points if you can get them to laugh. The newbies straight out of the military are the worst. Anyone ever watched that Comedy special with fluffy when he talks about getting pulled over? Blasts watcha gonna do on the stereo as the trooper walks up. Hilarious
My honest to God last 4 pullovers have all been in Toyota Camry’s. None resulted in a violation.
Funny I just sold my 261,000 mile Camry to my brothers son in law. He informed me the registration expired back in April. Watcha gonna do?
Lamborghini Countach LP 5000S- looks like it’s going 300 mph standing still.
1977 Pontiac Trans Am – you’re bootlegging something
Ferrari Testarossa – need I say more.
Hm. From personal experience, anything speeding. Primer gray paint on a beater pickup was ok until I was above 85 going home from work at 2am. Baby blue hotrod was ok until I was caught going double the limit on an on ramp (that was a fun gearhead talk for an hour with the trooper on the side of the road). My BMW was fine until I passed traffic at triple-digit speed. The only exception was being pulled over for an expired tag, but that was just a warning, and getting pulled over for being 1 mph over the limit by a very upright trooper who really wanted to find anything to ticket me for, but had to let me go with a verbal warning. Those weird small town officers are a special breed.
In small towns they are forced to be the new revenuers.
And they have quotas, like they’re appliance salespeople. Maddening.
A used police car with markings and lights still intact
Any car with me behind the wheel from about age 16 to 25. For example, I once managed to get an exhibition of speed ticket (a 2-pointer!) in a 1983 Nissan Sentra wagon, which is one of the slowest cars on the planet.
Bill Engvall tells a story about getting a ticket for doing 8 mph in a 5 mph zone. A record I think
That was like when I got a noise ordinance ticket in the car that had the quietest stereo of probably 20 years of cars I’ve driven (and that’s a lot of cars and stereos.)
It’s never been my experience that a particular car got me pulled over. Every time I’ve been pulled over it was because I had fallen afoul of the rules. I’ve been pulled over in an old Mustang and also in a Geo Metro and a Hyundai Elantra. The last time I was pulled over was… a long time ago.
I assume the Metro wasn’t a speeding ticket?
Umm, actually, it was. 49 in a 30 on a freezing winter night. He said he wouldn’t have bothered if I had scraped my windows, but looking through a slit of clear window from the defroster wasn’t safe. The Elantra was no visible license plate. Had just had the windows tinted after buying it and didn’t want the temp tag taped to the tint. The Mustang was borrowed and I was let off with a warning.
The car with arsehole passengers in it who make piggy noises when they see policemen…
Yes, I was driving through NC State in the winter in my stepfather’s Convertible Bug, with the top down (heat works surprising well in them.) My passenger screamed ‘FU PIG’ to a member of WolfLaw (what I called them) as we passed through campus. Needless to say we were pulled over.
The campus cop struts up to my window and says, ‘You like drawing attention to yourself.’ I was like, what do you mean. He then asks if I screamed something at him. I truthfully replied, ‘No.’ This actually seemed to confuse him. He then asked if my passenger did. I replied, ‘He might have.’ This really seemed to deflate the cops sails. He ran my plates and checked my license, and reluctantly let us go after he told my friend that his feelings were hurt. Friend apologized.