But contrary to the stereotype of the aggressive sport utility vehicle driver, the report by ISO Quality Planning of San Francisco also found that drivers of Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes, big SUVs that share structural and mechanical basics with the H2, are among the least likely to get tickets for moving violations, based on a study of tickets issued nationwide in a 12-month period ended last year by drivers of more than 1.7 million vehicles.

Why the difference? Quality Planning executives can only guess. “The sense of power that Hummer drivers derive from their vehicle may be directly correlated with the number of violations they incur,” president Raj Bhat said in statement. “Or perhaps Hummer drivers, by virtue of their driving position, are less likely to notice road hazards, signs, pedestrians or other drivers.”

On Long Island, homebuilder and renovator Steve Nemiroff of Roslyn Heights said yesterday he has never been ticketed for a moving violation in 163,000 miles of driving the 2003 H2 he bought from North Bay Cadillac Hummer in Great Neck. And he said he does feel safe behind the wheel. “No matter what the weather or where I am,” he said, “I never worry about me getting hurt.”

Quality Planning said other vehicles whose drivers attract above-average numbers of tickets are those that appeal to young people, especially the Toyota/Scion xA, xB and tC; and at least two that appeal to auto enthusiasts, the Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG and CLS63 AMG.

Quality Planning’s survey isn’t the first to single out the drivers of Hummers; the Highway Loss Data Institute, a suburban Virginia-based group affiliated with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says on its Web site that H3s have a “substantially worse than average,” rate of claims for property damage, though not for other types of claims.

The institute says the larger Hummer H2 has a substantially worse-than-average record for property damage and also for bodily injury and even fire and theft claims.

Drivers of these vehicles get the most tickets: *

Hummer H2, H3
Scion tC
Scion xB
Mercedes CLK63AMG
Toyota Solara Coupe
Mercedes CLS63AMG
Scion xA
Subaru Outback
Audi A4
Toyota Matrix

Drivers of these get the least:

Jaguar XJ
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Tahoe
Chevrolet C/K 2500/3500 pickup
Buick Park Avenue
Mazda 6
Buick Ranier SUV
Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan
Buick Lucerne
GMC Sierra C1500 pickup

*In order, based on percent of average rate per 100,000 miles driven

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