What you drive affects how you drive

New report reveals Canada's best and worst drivers.

By Bill McLauchlan

Let me declare my bias right up front here. If asked, I'd have fingered BMW and Pontiac Grand Am drivers as the worst on the road. Over the years, I've seen more aggression, selfishness and lack of respect for their fellow road users from drivers of those makes than in any other brand that comes to mind.

Guess what? I'm half right. Sure, BMW drivers are most likely to have past tickets and Pontiac drivers don't even rate. Probably because the latter is no longer manufactured.

But, in Canada, Lamborghini and Aston Martin drivers are the safest on the road with 71 percent of them holding a clean driving record free of tickets, claims and accidents. That's way better than the national average of 53 percent, according to a new report by Kanetix, a leading online site for insurance and other financial services.

Aston Martin DB9

The study compared driving history with 10 car brands to see if the vehicle Canadians drive really does have an impact on how they drive it.

Despite their racy image, a mere five percent of Aston Martin drivers have been in an accident in the last two years. Lamborghini owners weren't far behind, at just seven percent.

Lamborghini Gallardo

Both of those stack up very well compared to Kia drivers. They racked up the highest number, with 15 percent getting into an accident in the same time frame.

"Our report shows that there is a correlation between the type of car that you drive, and the way you drive it," says Janine White, vice-president, Marketplaces, at Kanetix.

Equally revealing is that, when it comes to tickets, Infiniti drivers lead the pack with 29 percent having received a ticket in the past two years. That substantially higher than the average of 22 percent. Lamborghini drivers, by comparison, are rather law abiding, with just 16 percent running afoul of John Law.

Infiniti EX

Other findings finger Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Buick and Toyota as those makes whose drivers are most likely to stick to the rules of the road.

Fourteen percent of drivers have been in an accident in the past couple of years. Ford, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda and Nissan drivers are more likely than average to crash into something.

And, for those of you with no tickets on your record you can feel pretty smug about that. It seems 22 percent of Canadian drivers admit to getting at least one during the past two years. BMW, Land Rover, Lincoln and Porsche drivers are the leading miscreants in this ticket collecting race.