# What Color Car Gets The Most Tickets From Cops?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686 "2016-11-05T12:33:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/21 "2016-11-07T09:01:27Z")

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In South Africa, I can guarantee that the vehicles most stopped & most ticketed are white, or white-with-decals. Because that is the default colour choice of the minibus taxi.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/22 "2016-11-07T09:13:47Z")

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> [@Fridgemagnet](#):
>
> Lovely. I think this needs expanding upon for the benefit of non-UK Dopers: [Snooker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snooker) is like Pool but a little more complex.

Nah, snooker is played outside the UK as well (more than 3-ball, IME); I’ve played it in the US, Ireland, France, Spain, Costa Rica and Italy (and I only play every thousand years or so…). But a lot of people, including the Americans in my team, call both “pool”.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/23 "2016-11-07T11:59:38Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> Nah, snooker is played outside the UK as well (more than 3-ball, IME); I’ve played it in the US, Ireland, France, Spain, Costa Rica and Italy (and I only play every thousand years or so…). But a lot of people, including the Americans in my team, call both “pool”.

In the US? I’ve lived in various cosmopolitan parts of the US for an aggregate of around 20 years now at various times in my life, and I was an avid pool player (and snooker player in the UK) when I was younger. I have never seen a snooker table in the US. And I’ve described snooker, involving a 12-foot long table, to US pool players to their complete bemusment. I’m not saying they don’t exist in the US, but they are certainly rare - I’m wondering where you have seen them?

And I’m equally confused by “But a lot of people, including the Americans in my team, call both “pool”.” I don’t understand why anyone who knew the game of pool, and knew the game of snooker, would call snooker “pool”. It’s not like it’s just a different version of pool. The table is 3 times larger.

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**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/24 "2016-11-07T12:22:18Z")

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> [@Riemann](#):
>
> In the US? I’ve lived in various cosmopolitan parts of the US for an aggregate of around 20 years now at various times in my life, and I was an avid pool player (and snooker player in the UK) when I was younger. I have never seen a snooker table in the US. And I’ve described snooker, involving a 12-foot long table, to US pool players to their complete bemusment. I’m not saying they don’t exist in the US, but they are certainly rare - I’m wondering where you have seen them?
> 
> And I’m equally confused by “But a lot of people, including the Americans in my team, call both “pool”.” I don’t understand why anyone who knew the game of pool, and knew the game of snooker, would call snooker “pool”. It’s not like it’s just a different version of pool. The table is 3 times larger.

We had, in our little town of 1300, a pool hall/restaurant/cards in the backroom business where there were two tables, one for pool, mostly rotation or eightball, the other a ‘snooker’ table, no pockets…but it wasn’t that much bigger than a regular pool table, maybe a foot in each direction? Maybe not even that.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/25 "2016-11-07T12:29:04Z")

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> [@crucible](#):
>
> …the other a ‘snooker’ table, no pockets…

Ok, maybe we’re getting to the root of this - that’s not a snooker table for the game of snooker that’s played in the UK, Australia and several other countries. A snooker table has the usual 6 pockets, but is 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. And always this size - it’s not like pool, where there are sometimes different sized tables (except kids’ toy versions, of course).

Here’s some snooker

  
So, are there parts of the US where the word “snooker” is just used to refer to a completely different pool-like or billiard-like game?

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**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/26 "2016-11-07T22:20:06Z")

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> [@Riemann](#):
>
> Ok, maybe we’re getting to the root of this - that’s not a snooker table for the game of snooker that’s played in the UK, Australia and several other countries. A snooker table has the usual 6 pockets, but is 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. And always this size - it’s not like pool, where there are sometimes different sized tables (except kids’ toy versions, of course).
> 
> Here’s some snooker
> 
>   
> So, are there parts of the US where the word “snooker” is just used to refer to a completely different pool-like or billiard-like game?

I think I remember that you had to use your cue ball to propel one red ball off one or two cushions into another. If you didn’t have a decent shot, you tried to shoot your cue ball (off a cushion) into a position where your opponent could not make a shot, either. You said you were ‘snookered’ when you didn’t have a shot.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/27 "2016-11-07T22:29:03Z")

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> [@crucible](#):
>
> I think I remember that you had to use your cue ball to propel one red ball off one or two cushions into another. If you didn’t have a decent shot, you tried to shoot your cue ball (off a cushion) into a position where your opponent could not make a shot, either. You said you were ‘snookered’ when you didn’t have a shot.

The game you are describing sounds like a form of carom billiards.

> **[Carom billiards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carom_billiards)**
>
> Carom billiards, also called French billiards and sometimes carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, pocketless billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score points or "counts" by caroming one's own cue ball off both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball on a single shot. The invention as well as the exact date of origin of carom billiards is somewhat obscure but is thought to be traceable to 18...

As opposed to snooker:

> **[Snooker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snooker)**
>
> Snooker (pronounced .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}UK: /ˈsnuːkər/ SNOO-kər, US: /ˈsnʊkər/ SNUUK-ər) is a cue sport played on a rectangular billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets: one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind

In addition to being the name of the game, the word “snookered” is used in the way you describe, when you have no clear path to a legal shot.

So I’m still not really clear. Do you think there is a genuine regionalism in parts of the US that “snooker” means the game of what most of the word calls carom billiards? Or do you think this is just a case of people in the US playing games that are not usually played here and just not knowing the correct names? I’ve searched the web, and I can’t find any reference to any US usage of snooker.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/28 "2016-11-08T00:43:51Z")

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Former 14.1 regional competitor …

AKAIK, in the US the game with two cue balls (one marked, one not) and one red ball and no pockets is always and everywhere called “billiards”.

I have seen a true snooker table and ball-set in a US pool hall, but it was long ago and notable for being there.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/29 "2016-11-08T00:50:30Z")

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Hit enter too soon … Continuing …

The vast majority of US pocket billiards = “pool” nowadays is played on coin-op 3.5x7 foot tables in bars. With 9-ball and 8-ball being the preferred games.

At a pool hall where you can rent a table by the hour you’ll find a mix of 3.5x7 foot and 4x8 foot playing surfaces. And very, very rarely a 4.5x9 surface, which is the traditional tournament size.

Regardless of the game, pockets, table size, etc., the term “snookered” is US parlance for being in a crappy position with little or no hope of a successful shot. I suspect \*\*crucible \*\*picked up some bad terminology at the bar someplace.

I’m saddened to see that 9-ball has taken over both the amateur and pro tournament scene. 14.1 was/is an elegant game for a more civilized era. An era sadly seen no more.

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**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/30 "2016-11-08T03:34:02Z")

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My daughter’s Arrest Me Yellow Focus only counted as such in Cook County, where they were looking for it. Have any of your children provided critiques of various county jails? I limited my driving to primarily DuPage county, where “the food’s worse.” Traffic light tickets at Walmart I blamed on her.

Never co-sign on a car.

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/31 "2016-11-08T07:55:14Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Regardless of the game, pockets, table size, etc., the term “snookered” is US parlance for being in a crappy position with little or no hope of a successful shot.

Not just U.S. - it’s used here in South Africa for that position in pool. We also have snooker of the giant table UK variety, but it’s getting rarer to find a place that has a table anymore. Usually old-style sports clubs and hotels are your best bet.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/32 "2016-11-08T11:29:14Z")

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Yeah. I didn’t mean to say “snookered” was limited to just US usage. I was asserting it was common to universal within the US. I make no claim about the rest of the world although I think it’s standard British usage as well.

Sorry to be unclear.

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**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/33 "2016-11-08T13:55:39Z")

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You’d think someone called **crucible** would know more about snooker since the Snooker World Championship is played at the [Crucible Theatre in Sheffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible_Theatre) 🙂

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/34 "2016-11-08T14:13:15Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Quoth **Quartz** ’s cite:
> 
> The result compared white vehicles with all other coloured vehicles. MUARC’s research showed there were a number of colours related to high risk, including:
> 
> Black  
> Blue  
> Grey  
> Green  
> Red  
> Silver

What colors does that even leave? Are all colors increased risk?

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**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/35 "2016-11-08T14:25:12Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> What colors does that even leave? Are all colors increased risk?

Purple.  
Pink.  
Clear.

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**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/36 "2016-11-08T14:28:51Z")

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> [@pkbites](#):
>
> Purple.  
> Pink.  
> Clear.

Sounds like someone is profiling Elvis and Wonder Woman.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/37 "2016-11-08T14:35:28Z")

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Wonder Woman has a clear costume? Why wasn’t I told!!?

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**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/38 "2016-11-08T19:52:02Z")

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I have literally never seen a Tie Dyed car pulled over. Maybe get one of those.

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**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/39 "2016-11-09T02:06:57Z")

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> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#):
>
> I have literally never seen a Tie Dyed car pulled over. Maybe get one of those.

But wouldn’t a tie-dye of Black, Blue, Grey, Green, Red, & Silver _increase_ your chances over any _one_ of those colors?

You’re probably just to Drunky to notice.

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**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-car-gets-the-most-tickets-from-cops/770686/40 "2016-11-09T16:44:45Z")

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> **[Volkswagen Golf Harlequin: VW's Strangest Idea?](https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/volkswagen-golf-harlequin-vws-strangest-idea/)**
>
> A discussion about Volkswagen’s strangest ideas would be a long and potentially heated one. Not selling the latest Scirocco here, for example, but offering the Touareg V10 TDI. Producing the Phaeton W12 at all. Creating new sales volume goals by...

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