Owners of Morris Minors are among the most prolific drug and drink drivers, a new survey by MoneySuperMarket suggests.
In a study of 139 makes of car and six million insurance quotes, the humble Minor was proportionately among the worst offenders, with four out of every 1000 owners having a drink or drug driving conviction over the past 12 months.
Topping the list was Panther cars, with total of 33 per cent of drivers were convicted of being over the influence in one year. However, only a few thousand cars were made in contrast with almost 1.4 million Minors.
Drivers of Indian-made Mahindra cars were in second, spot with 13 out of every 1000 owners caught high or drunk at the wheel, with Datsun drivers in third sport, with 7 out of every 1000 drivers. Meanwhile, flashier models including Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis featured much further down the list, and those driving Daimlers, DeLoreans, Hillman Imps and Lotus sportscars had no convictions at all.
That the Minor, a quintessential icon of Englishness, ranks so highly on the list will come as a surprise. But though the findings have been reached with the assistance of DVLA and police data, we’re finding it somewhat of a stretch to believe that Minor owners are the most dangerous on UK roads. What these findings probably show is the classic unreliability of statistics when the subject samples are small – our UK roads aren’t brimming with Mahindras for example. There’s also nothing to suggest that owners were actually driving their Minor and not another car when the conviction was made.
Whilst it’s timely reminder of the risks of drink driving over the festive season and we’d never, ever condone such behaviour, the findings will nevertheless give many a law-abiding Minor owner a good laugh…
