Forbes Has Unexpected News About New York State Road Rage

Ask most Americans outside the state; there’s a certain stigma around New York drivers. I blame Hollywood. All they see is the “I’m walkin’ here” side of NYC. Sure, we’ve all been cut off on 7, almost not let merge onto 787 by numerous BMWs, and probably seen more red lights run than we’d feel safe admitting, but is it really as bad here as everyone else thinks?

Despite the stigma, I think most New Yorkers are good drivers. Aggressive? Absolutely, but also pretty courteous. Sometimes I get a rude driver who honks, flips a finger, or rides my bumper like they’re trying to add a backseat to my car, but 9 times out of 10 they have Massachusetts plates.

The Fast and the Least Furious

While some say I’m too generous toward my fellow Upstate drivers, Forbes has some new information that may help me make my case. They’ve taken a survey of 5,000 drivers across America to find which states have the most road rage. 85% of American drivers say they’ve been the victim of some sort of road rage behind the wheel.

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Forbes based their ranking on how many people had been on the receiving end of confrontational driving, like honking, tailgating, yelling, rude gestures, even crashes. New York isn’t just outside the top ten, we’re actually at the end of the list - New York is the 4^th most polite state on the road.

Put That Finger Away

The only states with more polite drivers than New York are Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and America’s nicest, North Dakota. The most common road rage triggers are stress, heavy traffic, and running late, so make sure to leave with extra time to keep our nice streak intact.

By the way, I bet you can’t guess the most road rage prone state. It’s Utah. Utah! One in four Utahns know somebody who’s been physically injured in an accident cause by road rage. If you gave me forty guesses, Utah wouldn’t have been made it.