Do Red Cars Really Attract More Tickets? New Data Raises Legal Questions Behind the Color Myth

For years, the idea that “red cars get pulled over more” has been treated as little more than motoring folklore. But new national data on vehicle color, traffic violations, and crash patterns suggests the stereotype may have more legal and practical implications than many drivers — and some attorneys — realize.

According to a new national study by Levine and Wiss on vehicle color and enforcement patterns, red cars make up around 15% of vehicles on U.S. roads, yet they rank second nationwide for traffic stops and citations. White vehicles still receive the most tickets overall, but that aligns with their clear dominance in the national fleet. Red stands out because its share of violations and certain crash types is disproportionately high compared with its market share.

The same research, which includes a detailed red car risk and ownership analysis, finds that red vehicles are:

10% more likely to be involved in a traffic violation than the average vehicle
Involved in 4% more front-end collisions than their road share would predict
Linked to 25% more single-vehicle rollovers than expected based on their prevalence

These figures don’t prove that red paint itself causes crashes or tickets. But they do raise important questions about driver behavior, law enforcement perception, and how “high-visibility” vehicles fit into modern traffic safety and liability discussions.

Who Drives Red Cars — and Why It Matters

The study shows that men choose red vehicles at a 12.3% higher rate than women, and that younger drivers are particularly drawn to the color. Among new car buyers aged 18 to 34, roughly 20% of vehicles purchased are red, making red overrepresented among the most citation-prone demographic in U.S. traffic statistics.

The average age of a red car owner is 45, slightly younger than the average for other colors. Red is also strongly associated with performance-oriented and attention-grabbing vehicle segments:

Nearly 30% of global sports car sales are red
Red is the dominant color for many classic and muscle cars, including over 40% of 1970s vintage muscle cars
The share of red EVs and hybrids has risen by 30% over the past three years in North America

From a legal perspective, these demographic and segment patterns matter. The same drivers attracted to red vehicles — younger, often male, and more likely to choose performance or sporty models — are also the drivers statistically more likely to speed, take risks, and be overrepresented in enforcement and crash data regardless of vehicle color.

In other words, attorneys and policymakers need to distinguish between color as a genuine risk factor and color as a proxy for underlying behavior.

Color, Crashes, and Comparative Risk

While red vehicles do show elevated involvement in violations and certain crash categories, they are not the most dangerous color on the road.

A long-term analysis of approximately one million crashes over 17 years found that:

Black vehicles are about 12% more likely than white vehicles to be involved in an accident
Gray vehicles show an 11% higher risk, and silver a 10% higher risk versus white
Red vehicles are around 7% riskier than white, placing them in the mid-range of crash risk

The primary explanation is visibility. Darker vehicles blend more easily into asphalt, shadows, and low-light conditions, especially at night or in bad weather. By contrast, red is a high-contrast color in many environments, which may help explain why it doesn’t top the collision risk rankings — even though it does show up more than expected in front-end collisions and single-vehicle rollovers.

This means that in litigation involving color, visibility, and negligence, red vehicles will not typically be the prime example of “hard to see” design. Instead, red may be more relevant in cases involving alleged aggressive driving, speeding, or high-visibility conduct that drew enforcement attention.

Tickets, Stereotypes, and Insurance Myths

One of the most persistent beliefs about red cars is that they cost more to insure. The study confirms that this is false. U.S. insurers do not use vehicle color as a rating factor; premiums are based on driver record, vehicle make and model, garaging location, usage patterns, and loss history — not whether the car is red, white, or black.

However, when it comes to tickets and traffic stops, color does appear to play an indirect role. The data shows:

White cars receive the most tickets overall (in line with their dominant market share)
Red cars rank second, ahead of gray and silver
Red vehicles are 10% more likely than the average car to be involved in a traffic violation

For law enforcement, this may reflect a mix of genuine risk behavior and perceptual bias: red vehicles are more visible, more memorable, and more likely to be associated with speed or aggressive driving. For defense counsel, this raises potential questions about selective attention and pretextual stops in certain fact patterns, especially where driver behavior appears borderline rather than clearly unlawful.

Where the Law Meets the Myth

The new data suggests a nuanced answer to the old question about red cars:

Yes, red vehicles are statistically more involved in tickets and some crash types than their share of the fleet would suggest
No, they are not the most dangerous color overall, nor do they automatically raise insurance premiums

Instead, red appears to sit at the intersection of driver psychology, enforcement visibility, and cultural symbolism. It is chosen disproportionately by younger and male drivers, features heavily in sports and performance segments, and naturally attracts attention in traffic.

For legal practitioners, regulators, and safety advocates, that makes red cars a useful lens through which to examine broader issues: how perception shapes enforcement, how demographic and design factors influence risk, and how longstanding myths can obscure the real drivers of crash and citation patterns on U.S. roads.