People seemingly became worse drivers during the pandemic. Even though there were fewer people on the roads, drivers continued dying in preventable accidents due to speed and irresponsible behavior. Road rage certainly plays a role, but a recent study showed that anger behind the wheel is much worse in some states.
Car subscription platform Finn conducted the study, which found that Arizona had the worst road rage in America, scoring 8/10. Finn said the state had the most confrontational drivers and ranked at No. 12 for the most accidents. A significant majority of Arizonans reported having been yelled at, insulted, or threatened while driving — and 22.5 percent said they’d been forced off the road.
Interestingly, the sparsely-populated state of Montana came in second. It had the most car accidents and came in at No. 11 for confrontational drivers. A surprising 41.5 percent have been cut off on purpose, and 33.5 percent reported being blocked from changing lanes. South Carolina ranked third, with 46.5 percent saying they’d been yelled at in traffic. Montana ranked first for most fatal car accidents, while Mississippi was first for total deaths due to car accidents.
The study also looked at states with the least driving aggression. Turns out Minnesota nice is really a thing.
Finn noted that only 15 states have aggressive driving laws on the books, and only 11 have defined aggressive actions. Fines, jail time, and other penalties vary by state. Delaware has the lightest jail time associated with aggressive driving, with up to 30 days for offenders. Angry drivers in Arizona face up to six months in jail, while drivers in California can receive up to four years.
It’s worth noting that Finn’s data came from several publicly available sources, so you can dig deeper into any part of the conclusions it formed. Finn used Forbes’ Confrontational Drivers Ranking and Car Accident Statistics, along with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Fatality Facts 2021 and AAA’s fact sheet on aggressive driving laws.
