ifydcat We have all heard of urban legends, or urban myths as they are known in some circles. They are simply stories that have been told over and over again and picked up some pretty serious distortions along the way to make them more interesting. Some of them are fabricated from a grain of truth before they are blown out of proportion, but most of them are just wild stories. Did you know that urban myths also exist in the world of car insurance?
The first car insurance myth is that sports car drivers get more tickets than drivers of more nominal car models. This myth really does make sense. It’s easy to rationalize the fact that a Porsche driver is much more likely to accumulate speeding tickets than the driver of, say, a Toyota. Rational, yes – true, no. A company called Quality Planning Corp. did an analysis of car types vs. number of traffic violations cited throughout a year. The top five offending makes and models were the Mercedes-Benz SL class, the Toyota Camry-Solara, the Scion TC, the Hummer H2/H3 and finally the Scion XB. Porsche didn’t even make an appearance in the top ten – it showed up in the number 12 spot with it’s Cayman model.
Here are some additional statistics of interest that were gleaned from this report – more than 50% of the drivers that were cited while driving one of the top five offending vehicles were women. The Hummers were the exception, they were most often piloted by men. The Scion TC boasted the youngest drivers on average (most of them between the ages of 16 and 30) and of those ticketed, a whopping 61% of them were women. Ladies, let’s work on slowing it down, urban legends abound when it comes to women drivers – we need not create urban truths out of them.
Another wildly popular insurance myth is that sports car drivers get more tickets than drivers of more nominal car models. This myth really does make sense. It’s easy to rationalize the fact that a Porsche driver is much more likely to accumulate speeding tickets than the driver of, say, a Toyota. Rational, yes – true, no. A company called Quality Planning Corp. did an analysis of car types vs. number of traffic violations cited throughout a year. The top five offending makes and models were the Mercedes-Benz SL class, the Toyota Camry-Solara, the Scion TC, the Hummer H2/H3 and finally the Scion XB. Porsche didn’t even make an appearance in the top ten – it showed up in the number 12 spot with it’s Cayaman model.
And now for some more useless trivia pertaining to the color of your car. Don’t be afraid to soak it up and use it at a party for an ice-breaker. Red cars will, on average, cost you more to purchase. No matter what make or model the car is, if it is bright red, it will list for roughly 9% more than the same make and model in a different color. If you’re thinking that list price is just a starting point for a master negotiator, think again. Car salesmen are less likely to negotiate on the price of a red car than any other color. So, it’s safe to say that a red car may cost you a little more in the beginning, but statistically, it is going to be safer than it’s dimmer hued counterparts. Black cars are 12% more likely to be involved in a traffic accident during daylight hours than any other color of car, followed by gray, silver, blue and finally red.
If you’re willing to pay a little extra for that uber-red vehicle to park in your garage, you may find it benefiting you in ways you never imagined. It will improve your mood and general sense of well-being (not to mention your energy level), it won’t cost you any more to insure than the same make and model in any other color, and you’ll be less likely (statistically speaking) to be involved in a traffic accident. Sounds like good incentive to me!
Whether you drive a bright red Chevelle, a dark green Camaro or anything in between, you can trust Leland West for your classic car insurance policy.
Posted in 
Tags: 
