Buick Takes Top Two Spots On A List It Wishes It Didn’t
There’s good news and bad news for the Buick PR staff this week. The bad news is that if you see one on the road, especially a Buick Envista or Encore GX, you should be extra careful when driving near it. The good news is that it’s not because of the driver’s age this time. It gets bad again, though. The reason is that, according to a new report, those two models have the drivers with the most DUIs on their records.
Buick
Started back in 1899 by David Dunbar Buick, Buick was one of the first American car brands and is credited with the establishment of General Motors in the early 1900s. It’s one of oldest surviving American carmakers, and now sells luxury SUVs. It’s considered to be less premium (and less expensive) than Cadillac, but slightly more opulent than Chevrolet.
- Founded
- 1899
- Founder
- David Dunbar Buick
- Headquarters
- Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
- Owned By
- General Motors
- Current CEO
- Mary Barra
The data comes from Insurify, a site that provides millions of insurance quotes every year. It said that nearly one million Americans get a citation for driving under the influence every year and that 24.1 million drivers self-report that they have driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the last year.
Insurance Quote Records Show Startling Figures
Insurify used its database of 97 million auto insurance quotes to identify that Buick Envista drivers have the most DUIs. 72.1 out of every 1,000 drivers of that SUV reported that they had one on their record when looking for a quote. The Buick Encore GX was close behind with 58.7.
The overall average for DUIs is 6.4 per 1,000 drivers, said Insurify. That makes owners of the Envista 11 times more likely than average to have a DUI citation. A third Buick is also in the top 10. The Buick Enclave is in the seventh spot, with 22.8 out of 1,000 reporting having been caught for a few too many before driving.
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General Motors as a whole is very well represented on the list. The Chevrolet Bolt EV was in third place with 40.6 per 1,000, and the Chevrolet Blazer was fifth at 28.1. The Astro, a model that Chevy hasn’t sold in decades, was in fourth place at 29.9 per 1,000. This could explain why GM CEO Mary Barra has said that the automaker is already working on tech to stop impaired drivers, which could be coming to vehicles soon.
Top 10 Full Of Family Vehicles, Not Sports Cars
Other vehicles in the top 10 include the Jaguar XF sedan, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, and the Ford Bronco. The Volkswagen New Beetle is in the eighth spot, showing too many drivers are having some punch before they get in their buggies.
Related
NHTSA Says Drugs Or Alcohol Involved In Majority Of Serious Car Crashes In The USA
The disturbing findings were published following a new NHTSA study.
Insurify points out that insurance premiums jump by about 65 percent with a DUI on the record. Plus, many insurers won’t renew a customer after they’ve been nicked for driving while impaired. Of course, there are potentially tens of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties, including jail time, on top of that.
The NHTSA says that 37 Americans are killed each day in drunk-driving crashes. That’s 13,524 in 2022 alone, making up a third of all traffic crash fatalities. Another 2,337 were killed in crashes where the driver had a blood alcohol level above zero but below the 0.08 limit. The feds have been pushing automakers to take some responsibility for the crisis since 2021.
Source:
Insurify
