DUI Offenders Drive These Brands The Most

Nissan Altima drivers, here’s an alternative story to read instead of this one. Okay, now that the coast is clear – we all have stereotypes that we hold about people who drive certain vehicles, mainly negative ones. Those views are usually shaped by anecdotes and watching crash videos posted on social media.

There’s now hard data to back up our prejudices. Researchers were tasked by LendingTree to comb through tens of millions of insurance quotes to find which brand’s vehicle owners were the most dangerous on the road. Today, we’re just going to focus on drunk driving, measured by DUIs per 1,000 drivers.

Volkswagen opens the top ten list. Drivers of the German automaker rack up 1.21 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. Earlier this year, a Massachusetts man was killed when he crossed a highway median in his 2001 Volkswagen Beetle and collided with a sedan. There were beer cans found in the car.

Honda comes in ninth place with 1.21 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. Last July, two Honda Civic drivers in Virginia crashed into each other and both of them were found to be under the influence.

Ford is tied for seventh and is the first domestic brand in the top ten, with 1.41 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. In June, the driver of a Ford F-150 slammed into a Quincy, Massachusetts home while allegedly drunk and fled the scene on foot.

GMC is also in seventh place with 1.41 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. A three-year-old was killed in July when a suspected drunk driver sat the child with an adult seat belt and crashed into a utility pole.

Chevrolet is the next brand on the list, with 1.42 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. A driver in Southern California crashed his Corvette so hard in December last year that the engine was ripped from the chassis. He was allegedly street racing while drunk.

Jeep is fifth place on the list, with 1.43 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. Yes, this is a trend. In 2012, Jeep was forced to pull an ad featuring Bruce Springsteen after he was charged with a DUI.

Dodge is fourth overall and second place for domestic brands, with 1.44 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. In July, a New Jersey driver t-boned a vehicle carrying a family of four with a Dodge Challenger and then drove away.

Subaru is surprisingly third among a sea of American automakers, with 1.45 DUIs per 1,000 drivers.

Ram, the Dodge breakaway brand, is second overall and the leading domestic brand with 1.72 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. It’s a bit terrifying, considering that nearly all pickup trucks are huge and heavy.