What Color Car Gets Pulled Over The Most (2023)?

A surprising number of drivers ask this question before deciding what car to buy.

This article will cover statistics and a little psychology about why some cars’ colors get pulled over more than others. 

Briefly, however,

White cars get pulled over the most by police but this is because white is the most popular car color. White, red, gray, and silver are the top four car colors that get pulled over the most. Red cars get pulled over more – as a percentage of that color of car on the road – than any other color.

As always, statistics only tell a small part of the story. 

What if we told you these four colors were in the country’s top five most popular car color choices?

The more common the car color, the more traffic stops it seems. 

Not quite though

Black is the second most popular car color according to iseecars.com but doesn’t appear in the top four car colors that get pulled over by the police.

It would be great to say a certain color car doesn’t get pulled over much, so go and buy that color car. Prices for certain colors would rocket while others would plummet.

So we know that silver, gray and red cars get pulled over more than other color cars, but it’s far more nuanced.

Factors other than car color make a driver more or less likely to be pulled over.

Psychology of Car Color

What if your car color was giving off messages to law enforcement? According to one profiling theory, we can all be grouped into different personality types. 

Could we show our personality type through the colors we prefer and the objects we buy? Let’s look at two colors.

Red.

To most people, red indicates danger. We see red lights at traffic lights warning us to stop. Warning signs are generally in red too. Red is a color that is supposed to put us on alert. It’s hot-wired into our brains.

The theory states that red personalities are driven by power. They can be harsh and domineering, believing they are right most of the time with large egos.

White.

White may indicate clean, religious, conforming, and innocent

The study states that people in this personality group are self-deprecating, devoid of ego, considerate, and patient.

So could a law enforcement officer witnessing the same traffic violation by drivers of two different colored cars act differently? 

The decision to pull over a car is normally taken quickly. There’s often little time to weigh the reasons for and against. It is often based on a gut feeling.

If humans have an inbuilt subconscious bias to certain colors, then perhaps this is a contributory factor in why red cars get pulled over more – as a percentage – than white cars.

Age of Driver

Younger drivers do get pulled over more than any other age group. Government statistics show. 

In fact, out of all traffic stops, 26% were drivers in the 16 to 24-year age group, even though they make up less than 16% of the drivers in the country.

There is very little data to show what car color younger drivers prefer. It appears – anecdotal- that there is very little difference in choice of color between younger drivers and older ones.

Many younger drivers appear to shun red cars, as they feel they may be more likely to be stopped if they’re driving one. 

Make and Model of Car

So drives of red or gray cars get pulled over more – as a percentage – than any other color, but what about car makes and models? 

But what about the makes and models of cars? Well, Insurance.com conducted a survey of drivers requesting a car insurance quote and found some interesting data from a dataset of over 500,000 quotes requested.

In the last three years, the most ticketed driver was behind the wheel of a Subaru WRX. A third of all their drivers had received a ticket. In second place is a Pontiac GTO. In 13th place is the Suzuki Reno – probably more to do with popularity than its quick acceleration.

Generally, another study showed that drivers of SUVs and hatchbacks were pulled over less and received fewer tickets than other types of vehicles.

Male or Female Driver

Men are more likely to get pulled over than women, even though the 192 million drivers in the country are split evenly between men and women.

Of the 17 million drivers stopped one year, nearly 60% were male drivers. The percentage difference increases the younger the age of the driver.

Is it because men tend to prefer buying red cars? Perhaps

A car color study found that men are 6% more likely to drive a red car than women and 3% more likely to drive a silver car than a woman. 

Both red and gray cars statistically get pulled over more than they should. Coincidence?

Maybe but maybe not.

In Summary

• Driving a red or silver car will make you more likely to be pulled over.

• The younger the driver, the more likely they’ll be pulled over.

• Male drivers are more likely to be pulled over.

• Drivers of black cars are one of the least likely groups to be pulled over.

• You’re less likely to get a ticket driving an SUV or a hatchback than other car types.

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