If you’ve recently found yourself stuck in traffic, chances are you’ve encountered or even embodied the frustration of one of the many irritated drivers on the road.
Road rage is an inevitable aspect of being behind the wheel, but its severity varies across different states.
Finn, a car subscription service, recently compiled data from various sources to identify the states with the most pronounced road rage, revealing that individuals in Arizona may benefit from a moment of calm before hitting the road.
Among the worst offenders in the country were Arizona, Montana, and South Carolina. Conversely, a few states stood out at the opposite end of the spectrum. Minnesota drivers experienced the least road rage, closely followed by Hawaii and New Hampshire.
Unsurprisingly, Arizona also ranked highest for the number of confrontational drivers, with Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia, and Oklahoma rounding out the top five.
The amiable driving behavior observed in Hawaii might be attributed to the difficulty of harboring anger in paradise despite the constant influx of tourists causing road congestion.
While one might assume that New Hampshire could experience spillover anger from the “Massholes” in Boston due to proximity, it turns out Massachusetts ranked just behind New Hampshire for the least road rage.
Finn’s analysis also delved into states with the highest number of fatal accidents. Montana, South Carolina, and Wyoming took the top three spots, with Mississippi, South Carolina, and Arkansas reporting the most total deaths resulting from car accidents, inclusive of pedestrians and individuals not directly involved in the crashes.
Some states impose significant penalties for aggressive driving; for instance, California drivers can face up to four years in jail. In contrast, Arizona, the state ranking worst in the study, has a maximum jail sentence of six months.
Surprisingly, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Delaware take no licensing actions against aggressive driving.
