Tesla, Ram, Subaru Have Worst Drivers, While Mercury, Pontiac, Cadillac Have Best

Many drivers have a favorite car brand or one they hate seeing on the road. Their distrust may be warranted, whether they’ve had bad experiences with other drivers or they buy into another brand’s reputation.

We utilized QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance quote data to determine which car brands have the worst drivers. Here’s what we found.

Key findings

• Tesla, Ram and Subaru have the worst drivers. Nationally, Tesla drivers had 36.94 incidents (accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations) per 1,000 drivers from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024 — up significantly from 31.13 in our late 2023 analysis. Ram (33.92) improves from worst to second-worst, while Subaru (32.85) remains the third-worst.
• Mercury, Pontiac and Cadillac have the best drivers. Mercury drivers had 18.63 incidents per 1,000 drivers nationally — about half the rate among Tesla drivers — making it the best brand two times in a row. Pontiac (19.72) and Cadillac (20.75) follow.
• Looking closer, Ram has the worst drivers in 16 states. That means Ram drivers had the highest incident rates among the 30 brands analyzed in nearly a third of states. This is most clear in New Jersey, where Ram drivers had 74.20 incidents per 1,000 drivers. Meanwhile, Tesla drivers are the worst in nine states — the second-highest.
• The three brands with the worst drivers overall also have the highest accident rates. Tesla, Ram and Subaru drivers had 26.67, 23.15 and 22.89 accidents per 1,000 drivers in the period analyzed, matching their accident rankings from our last study. Meanwhile, Pontiac (10.33), Mercury (11.50) and Chrysler (12.94) had the lowest accident rates.
• Pontiac overtakes BMW as the brand with the highest DUI rate. Pontiac drivers had a DUI rate of 3.11 per 1,000 drivers — a massive jump from 1.09 in our last analysis. BMW and Tesla trailed at 2.57 and 2.23 DUIs per 1,000 drivers, respectively. Volvo (1.13), Hyundai (1.20) and Kia (1.22) drivers had the lowest DUI rates.

Tesla has worst drivers

Going fully electric may not mean as much if you’re a menace on the streets.

In fact, from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024, Tesla had the worst drivers, at 36.94 incidents (accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations) per 1,000 drivers. When we conducted this study in late 2023, Tesla ranked second-worst with 31.13 incidents from Nov. 14, 2022, through Nov. 14, 2023.

Speed can play a role here. The cheapest Tesla — a standard Model 3 with rear-wheel drive — can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. Other packages of the Model 3 can accelerate from zero to 60 in 4.2 and 3.1 seconds.

Ram — which became a stand-alone brand in 2009 — follows at 33.92. That’s an improvement from our last version’s worst ranking, though it had a similar incident rate of 32.90. Subaru (32.85) remains third-worst, though it saw an uptick from an incident rate of 30.09.

What does that mean for drivers of these cars? According to LendingTree auto insurance expert and licensed insurance agent Rob Bhatt, it could affect insurance rates in a few different ways.

Mercury has best drivers

Like our last version, Mercury drivers had the lowest incident rate, at 18.63 incidents per 1,000 drivers. That’s nearly half the rate among Tesla drivers. However, it’s worth noting that the incident rate among this brand — which ceased production in 2010 — increased from 15.82.

Pontiac — which ended production in 2010 — follows, maintaining its ranking for the second time, at 19.72 incidents. That’s also an increase from our late 2023 version, when it had an incident rate of 16.24. Luxury brand Cadillac (20.75) took third place, rising from fourth place.

Saturn, which ranked third in our last study, wasn’t included in this analysis. (We analyzed the 30 brands with the most inquiries in our studied period, but Saturn was 31st.)

Drivers of these cars may benefit when it comes to their insurance, Bhatt says. “People who drive these vehicle makes are likely to get slightly cheaper insurance rates than those with higher-incident vehicles,” he says. “That said, other factors come into play. Your car’s market value is another factor that impacts your insurance cost. If you total your car and have collision coverage, your insurance company has to pay you your car’s value, minus your deductible. Higher value cars tend to cost insurance companies more, and these are the types of costs that are often also reflected in your rate.”

Full rankings

Car brands with highest/lowest incident rates

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

In nearly third of U.S., Ram drivers are worst

Looking closer, Ram has the worst drivers in 16 states — nearly a third of states. That’s a notable decrease from the last time, when Ram had the worst drivers in 23 states, or nearly half the U.S.

Ram drivers had the highest incident rate in New Jersey, at 74.20 incidents per 1,000 drivers. Only two brands in a state had a higher incident rate: Honda drivers in the District of Columbia had 75.80 incidents per 1,000 drivers, while GMC drivers in Rhode Island had 74.86 incidents.

Tesla drivers are the worst in nine states, putting it behind Ram. That’s down from our previous study, when it had the highest incident rate in 11. The other brands with the highest incident rate in a given state (and how many) were:

• Subaru (highest in six states)
• Volkswagen (five)
• Honda (two)
• Volvo (two)
• Infiniti (two)
• Audi (two)
• BMW (one)
• Lincoln (one)
• Mitsubishi (one)
• Mercedes-Benz (one)
• Land Rover (one)
• Hyundai (one)
• GMC (one)

Full rankings

Brand with highest incident rate by state

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

Brands with worst drivers have highest accident rates

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the three brands with the worst drivers overall also had the highest accident rates. Tesla ranks worst, at 26.67 accidents per 1,000 drivers. That’s up from 23.54 last time, though it also ranked worst then.

Ram and Subaru also maintained their rankings from last time, at 23.15 and 22.89 accidents, respectively. Both brands also saw increased accident rates, with Ram at 22.76 and Subaru at 20.90 previously.

Car brands with highest accident rates

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

Excluding Saturn (which was third-lowest in our last study), the brands with the lowest accident rates also maintained their rankings from last time, with Pontiac at 10.33 and Mercury at 11.50. Chrysler was third-lowest at 12.94. However, all three saw increased accident rates from last time, with Pontiac seeing a notable jump from 8.41.

“Driving a car with high accident rates won’t impact your insurance rates by as much as having a bad driving record, but it usually does leave you with a higher insurance rate than one you can get for low-accident vehicles,” Bhatt says. “If you have a clean record, you’ll pay less to insure the same car than someone with recent accidents. Regardless of your driving record, you usually pay more to insure a vehicle with high accident rates than for one not involved in accidents as frequently.”

Full rankings

Car brands with highest accident rates

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

Pontiac drivers have highest DUI rate

Despite having low overall incident and accident rates, Pontiac has the highest DUI rate, overtaking BMW.

Pontiac drivers had a DUI rate of 3.11 per 1,000 drivers. That’s a significant jump from 1.09 in our late 2023 analysis.

BMW, which had the highest DUI rate last time, had 2.57 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. That’s a decrease from 3.13. Meanwhile, Tesla (2.23) jumped to third-worst, a massive increase from the last study, when it ranked 20th at a DUI rate of 1.02.

Previously, Subaru ranked third-worst. In this year’s study, it fell to 12th, though its DUI rate slightly increased from 1.45 to 1.69.

Car brands with highest DUI rates

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

Conversely, Volvo (1.13), Hyundai (1.20) and Kia (1.22) drivers had the lowest DUI rates. Of these brands, Volvo was the only one among the three with the lowest rates last time, though it moved from second-lowest to lowest.

Mitsubishi, which had the lowest DUI rate in our late 2023 version, saw its rate rise significantly from 0.89 to 1.46.

Full rankings

Car brands with highest DUI rates

Source: LendingTree analysis of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries data from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

Preparing for poor drivers: Top insurance tips

Whether you’re a good driver or you drive a car with a bad reputation, it’s important to make sure you’re adequately insured. Bhatt recommends the following:

• Shop around. Each insurance company uses a different system to calculate rates. Some companies place greater emphasis on the car you drive than others.
• Consider uninsured motorist coverage. No matter how much insurance coverage you purchase, you can’t guarantee other drivers are equally insured, which can be a massive pain if you’re involved in an accident with them. Uninsured motorist coverage can help cover costs like medical expenses or car damage.
• Pay attention to the road, and drive responsibly. Excessive speed, impairment and distracted driving are among the most common factors in accidents, Bhatt says. “Just avoiding these three things can help you avoid accidents and other incidents. In the process, it also helps you get or keep low insurance rates. The insurance rate you get for a car with a bad reputation will always be lower when you keep your driving reputation, or your driving record, intact.”

Methodology

Researchers analyzed tens of millions of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance inquiries from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024.

To determine the best and worst drivers by brand, researchers calculated the number of driving incidents per 1,000 drivers in every state. This main category included accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations. We examined the 30 car makes with the highest number of inquiries. This study categorizes drivers based on inquiries made for those brands.

We looked at the four categories combined and individually. Our individual analyses don’t add to the driving incident total because of drivers with multiple incidents.

The categories that fell under citations included:

• Carelessness or recklessness
• Improper lane usage, improper passing and improper turning
• No insurance or no license to operate a vehicle or misrepresenting a license
• Failure to yield to a car or pedestrian
• Safety violations, following another vehicle closely and passing a bus
• Not signaling
• Hit-and-runs involving a bicycle or pedestrian
• Having defective equipment or using the wrong road
• Comprehensive or other citations