Road Rage Incidents by State
Road frustration is a common experience for many drivers, but some individuals struggle to manage their anger behind the wheel more than others. When tempers flare, these incidents can escalate dangerously, sometimes leading to serious injuries or even deaths.
A comprehensive study by the respected publication Forbes surveyed 10,000 drivers across all 50 states. Participants reported a range of aggressive behaviors they had witnessed or experienced, from verbal assaults to physical confrontations. After analyzing this data, Forbes compiled a ranking of states based on the confrontational nature of their drivers.
Curious about where your state stands in this ranking? Read on to discover the results of this study as we unveil the top states suffering from a road rage problem!
6. Mississippi
Mississippi actually ranks the highest among all 50 states for drivers who got just a little too agitated. Around 13.5% of drivers have experienced someone exiting their vehicle to fight with them. Yikes! But Mississippi also ranks sixth for road rage because of some other alarming statistics.
About 13.5% of drivers reported being forced off the road by another driver, and 43% reported other drivers cutting them off on purpose. Evidently, Mississippi could use a little work on its Southern hospitality.
5. Colorado
Colorado ranks fourth for cutting off other drivers, at 46%. It also has a problem with drivers blocking merging vehicles, at 38.5%, but the fun does not stop there. Cursing at other drivers and rude gestures are also commonplace, at 31.5% and 45%, respectively.
While not many reported people actually exiting from their vehicle to fight, Colorado, unfortunately, has the third-highest number of reported cases of this happening at 13%. Chill out, Colorado, like for real.
4. Oklahoma
Oklahoma is one Midwest state that’s not joking around regarding road rage. The state has the second-highest percentage of drivers (46.5%) who’ve been subjected to rude and offensive gestures on the road. Meanwhile, it also has the fifth-highest percentage of drivers who have been blocked when trying to merge or change lanes at 37.5%.
Worst of all, 58% reported that they’d been honked at, showing that Oklahoma is just another horn-happy state that could probably benefit from counting down from 10 every once in a while.
3. Utah
Utah comes in at number three for having the highest percentage (49.5%) of people cutting off other drivers. Blocking other cars trying to change lanes and merge is another common occurrence, with 42.5% reporting those behaviors.
On top of that, honking (61.5%) or making rude gestures (54%) at other drivers is a frequent occurrence on Utah roads. Also, notably, Utah has the third-highest percentage of drivers who have been tailgated, at 64.5%, higher than both of the top two states.
2. Missouri
Missouri ranks second among the states with the most road rage. An astounding 33.5% of drivers report being yelled at or cursed at by other drivers, the highest percentage of all 50 states.
Additionally, around 48% reported that they’d been purposely cut off by another driver, while 59.9% reported that they’d been tailgated. Furthermore, the state has proven to be a little too horn happy, with 60.5% of people being honked at by other drivers.
1. California
California ranked as the number one state with the most road rage. It had the third-highest percentage of drivers (47.5%) who have been cut off by other drivers and the fourth-highest percentage of drivers (32%) who have been yelled at or cursed by another driver.
Tailgating is also a huge problem in the state, with over 60% of survey respondents reporting that they’ve been tailgated. In addition, around 35% of drivers reported being blocked by other cars when trying to merge or change lanes—a common occurrence on California roads.
7. Indiana (tie)
Home of the Indy 500, apparently everyone in the state is acting like they’re in a race. Indiana has the fifth-highest percentage of drivers (12%) exiting their vehicle for a fight. It also has the eighth-highest percentage of drivers cutting others off at over 44%.
Furthermore, tailgating, cursing at, or threatening other drivers are also common occurrences in the Hoosier state.
7. Virginia (tie)
Virginia ties with Indiana when it comes to road rage. It has the second-highest percentage of drivers (15.5%) who have been forced off the road and the second-highest percentage of drivers (40.5%) who’ve been blocked while merging.
Overall, around 9% of survey respondents reported that they frequently experience road rage by other Virginian drivers.
9. New York
While this one might not come as a huge surprise to some, New York’s angry driving habits take many forms. The state ranks highest when it comes to people actually exiting their vehicle to start a fight at 13.5%. On top of that, it also has the second-highest percentage of drivers claiming to experience road rage on the regular.
And if those stats aren’t bad enough, New York has the sixth-highest number of drivers blocking others trying to merge and the eighth-highest number trying to force other drivers off the road.
10. Maryland
Maryland ranks 10th overall but third in blocking merging cars at 39.5%. Cutting off drivers is an even bigger problem, with 45.5% reporting that other drivers do it to them on purpose.
All in all, over 8% reported that they’ve experienced road rage regularly, indicating that Maryland residents might need to take a breather before getting behind the wheel.
