- Tesla drivers most likely to try to escape a speeding ticket.
- Mini drivers rank as the least honest car owners overall.
- Mitsubishi and Infiniti drivers come out looking like saints.
Tesla owners may love the future, but according to a new national survey, they are also some of the drivers most likely to rewrite history when it comes to their own bad behavior.
A study of 4,100 US motorists built around a professional psychological honesty test claims that more than half of Tesla owners would try to talk their way out of a speeding ticket. That puts them at the very top of the excuse makers list.
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The test presented drivers with sixteen real world scenarios to gauge how truthful they would be behind the wheel. Tempted to sneak out of a parking lot after scraping a bumper. Thinking about avoiding a fine even when you know you were at fault. Debating whether to tell your insurer everything.
Honesty by the Badge
Across the country, most respondents scored reasonably well. But the news wasn’t quite as reassuring once researchers began comparing responses by car brand.
When researchers for price comparison site Wheels Away sorted the results by what the participants drove, a few clear patterns emerged. Mini owners landed dead last for honesty with an average score of just 57.31 out of 80. Many admitted they would dodge penalties whenever possible.
Acura drivers took second place in the dishonor rankings and Volvo drivers slotted in at third place. Yes, the people driving the sensible Swedish cars are apparently more slippery than their image suggests.
Tesla drivers did not fare much better overall and they trounced everyone when the subject turned to speeding. According to the survey 52.94 percent of Tesla owners confessed they would make excuses if caught going too fast.
That was the highest share by a comfortable margin and well ahead of Volvo in second place. Mini drivers rounded out the top three for speeding excuses, which fits neatly with their overall honesty showing.
Least Honest Drivers by Car Brand
Wheels Away
At the other end of the scale are the brands whose drivers actually tell the truth. Mitsubishi owners were crowned the most honest of all with a score of 64 out of 80.
Infiniti drivers ranked just behind and Lincoln, Mazda and Jeep owners also placed well. These are the people who will apparently leave a note in the parking lot instead of pretending that scratch was already there.
Despite all the finger pointing, the study did find that most US drivers say honesty matters. Nearly two thirds of all respondents rejected the idea that breaking the rules is acceptable if nobody gets hurt.
Unfortunately for Tesla owners, that still leaves plenty of room for the kind of creative storytelling that happens when a police officer asks the simplest possible question: do you know how fast you were going?