NEW SURVEY ON TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS SHOWS WHICH DRIVERS THINK THEY’RE ABOVE RED LIGHT CAMERAS

MIAMI – (July 20, 2010) – Do people believe they can get away with a traffic violation based on what they drive? Conventional wisdom says people with nicer vehicles get all the breaks, but a new LeaseTrader.com survey says the nicer a person’s car, the more likely they believe they will get caught.

A nationwide online marketplace for car leases, LeaseTrader.com recently polled roughly 2017 drivers across America to find out if they believe they can get away with a traffic violation based on what they drive. The company polled drivers on their likelihood of getting tickets for speeding, red light infractions, parking fines, and illegal u-turn. The survey was comprised of drivers in four different sets of vehicles (examples):

Economy (Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt)
Mid-Size (Honda Accord, Toyota Camry)
SUV/Truck (Chevy Tahoe, Ford F-150)
Luxury (BMW 7 Series, Mercedes M Class)

The survey showed that luxury drivers across the board feel they get away with less compared with the other three sets of drivers. 63.2 percent of luxury drivers feel they will get a speeding ticket if they travel 10 miles per hour faster than the limit, compared with mid-size drivers (45.8%), economy drivers (28.2%) and SUV/truck drivers (41.2%). People leasing luxury cars feel they have a false sense of entitlement when it comes to speeding.

Drivers of economy vehicles also feel they’re least likely to get a ticket running a red light (15.7%), including new red light cameras, because of a blend-in syndrome where they feel their cars don’t stand out as much as the rest. Drivers of luxury vehicles again were highest (62.1%) followed by SUV/Truck (43.6%) and mid-size (35.7%).

Luxury drivers felt differently when it came to parking fines, however, with many feeling (72.5%) they wouldn’t receive a ticket for parking illegally, possibly because of a feeling of entitlement. Mid-size drivers were next (62.8%) followed by economy drivers (54.2%). Only a few SUV/truck drivers feel they wouldn’t get a parking ticket (21.4%).

About LeaseTrader.com
LeaseTrader.com, the most recognized name in car leasing, easily and affordably matches car shoppers with individuals looking to escape their auto lease. Privately held and founded in 1998, LeaseTrader.com is headquartered in Miami. For more information visit www.LeaseTrader.com, on Twitter @Lease_Trader, or call 800-770-0207.