That car brand drives the worst speed offenders

BMW drivers have the hardest time keeping their foot off the accelerator, according to a survey we conducted of which drivers most often break speed limits.

In collaboration with Kantar Sifo, we have investigated the relationship between speeding and different car brands. Over 1,000 car owners were asked whether they had been fined for speeding in the past three years. The results reveal that drivers of BMW, Audi and Peugeot are the most likely to exceed the speed limit.

16 percent of BMW drivers said they had received at least one speeding ticket. This is not only by far the most, but also almost three times more than the average (6%). Audi and Peugeot drivers were not much better (12%). Mercedes, the third largest German luxury brand, comes in tenth place (5%). At the same time, Mercedes drivers are the ones who have received the most speeding tickets on more than one occasion (3%).

– If it feels like drivers of certain car brands are more likely to have their foot on the gas than others, that's because they are. The survey shows that German premium cars in particular are overrepresented when it comes to speeding fines, says Daniel Odsberg, Sales Manager Kvdbil , and continues:

– At the same time, it's hard to know which is the chicken and which is the egg. Is it that more expensive brands with better performance and handling characteristics invite more aggressive driving, or do people with that driving style seek out these particular cars? It's probably a bit of both, I think.

The most pious on the road

But there are also brands that stand out in the other direction, whose drivers are rarely stopped by the police – at least not for speeding. These include brands such as Skoda, Ford and Opel. Skoda drivers are the least likely to receive speeding tickets (3%), according to the survey.

They get the most speeding tickets

The table below shows the car brands driven by those who reported receiving a speeding ticket in the last three years.

About the survey
The survey was conducted in Kantar Sifo's web panel during the period 12–16 January 2023. A total of 1020 people aged 18–79 who have access to a car were interviewed. The web panel is nationally representative and recruited based on random selection. There is no self-recruitment in Kantar Sifo's web panel.