Drivers across America commonly have to deal with road rage, tailgating and obnoxious honking. While there is no stopping a rude driver from being on the road, a new survey reveals which U.S. states have the rudest drivers.
Insure.com polled 2,000 male and female drivers in the 50 states, finding that the top five states with the rudest drivers are Idaho, the District of Columbia, New York, Wyoming and Massachusetts. Delaware, Vermont, New Jersey, Nevada and Utah rounded out the top 10.
The 2,000 licensed drivers who were polled were asked," Please think for a moment about the rudest drivers you've seen, based on the vehicles' state license plates. In your opinion, which state has the rudest drivers?"
People in the potato state stated that the terrain in Idaho was a major factor in rudeness on the road, according to Amy Danise, editorial director for Insure.com. Drivers honked and were aggressive on the roads when other drivers were slow.
"The roadways of Idaho present a dichotomy of drivers: Those who are moving so slowly that they're judged to be rude, and the aggressive drivers who speed around them and flip them off," Insure.com's Jeffrey Steele writes. "Together, with their opposite yet equally vexing styles of driving, they push Idaho to the top of the rankings."
Idaho may not be first state you think of when it comes to rude drivers. Many might assume the top spot would have went to New York. Drivers in the Big Apple reported that drivers were so rude because other drivers had "little patience for one another."
"I'm trying to figure out if that woman talking on her cell and smoking a cigarette is going to run a stop sign. Good thing she did 75 miles an hour up to the stop sign and then flipped me off for not letting her go," New Yorker Steven Lowell told Insure.com "I was just told to [expletive] off by a woman pushing her baby carriage through an intersection against the light because I interrupted her texting and emailing."
In Washington, D.C., Danise says drivers have the mentality of "it's every man for himself."
North Dakota was ranked the state with the least rude drivers, followed by Maine, New Hampshire, Montana, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Approximately half of all drivers think that one-quarter of the drivers on the road should not be licensed to drive. The survey found that 47 percent of drivers hate seeing people talk on a cellphone while driving. 37 percent hate drivers who tailgate and 35 percent hate when drivers don't use a signal to turn. 28 percent of drivers despise drivers who weave in and out of lane, while 26 percent hate those who speed.
