Three years ago, RVtravel.com ran this plaintive reader comment: “Dear RV Shrink: I have an ongoing problem with road rage. He sits right next to me in the motorhome and swears a blue streak at the outside world as we drive down the road. If we are in rural areas he seems like a perfectly normal, compassionate human being. When we get into heavy traffic congestion, construction zones, or have to turn around because of a missed turn, he goes nutso!” Happily, it seems road-raging RVers aren’t too common—but there are plenty of other road-raging drivers out there.
Worst state—one of the most sought after by tourists
The folks at Forbes Advisor just published the findings of a poll ranking the nation’s 50 states in order of road rage incidents experienced by poll respondents. Could an RV road trip take you to one of the states where you could most likely encounter “confrontational drivers”? If seeing the Grand Canyon is on your bucket list, watch out! Arizona gets the “top dishonor” for the most road rage. Why so?
To quote Forbes: “The Grand Canyon State ranked second worst for the percentage of drivers who have been forced off the road (22.5%) and tied with Oklahoma for having the third highest percentage of drivers who have been tailgated (70.5%).
“31.5% of Arizona drivers reported that another driver has exited their vehicle to yell at or fight with them, the fifth highest amount in the nation.
“Additionally, Arizona ranks sixth worst for both the percentage of drivers who experience road rage very frequently in their home state (31.5%) and the percentage of drivers who have been yelled at, insulted, cursed at or threatened by another driver (81%).”
Top 10 list of shame
Here’s the “Top 10 Road Rage” list of states with the most confrontational drivers, according to the Forbes Advisor Poll. Incidentally, to put it all together, Forbes sought the experiences of 10,000 licensed drivers comparing all 50 states across nine key metrics.
1. Arizona
2. Rhode Island
3. West Virginia
4. Virginia
5. Oklahoma
6. Alabama
7. Connecticut
8. Illinois
9. Texas
10. Ohio
Reasons for rage?
So what’s behind all this pavement incivility? We’re not sure if survey respondents were ‘fessing up to their own feelings, or projecting what may have caused their road rage experiences. But here’s how the survey showed the “why” of road rage:
- Heavy traffic (39.35%)
- Already feeling stressed (38.06%)
- Running late (33.89%)
- Already feeling angry (32.49%)
- Feeling tired (26.86%)
Want to avoid the road ragers? Forbes found, “Four of the top 10 states with the most polite drivers are in the Pacific and West, including Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and New Mexico.”
Have you ever been the victim of a road rage incident? We’d like to hear from you. Use the “return card” link below. Please use “road rage” as your subject line.
##RVT1120b
Hello all
Last year I came across this list for driving in Atlanta:
HOW TO DRIVE IN ATLANTA:
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, Atlana. Old-timers are still allowed to call it Alana.
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 pm. Friday’s rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on I-285 is 80 mph. On I-75 and I-85, your speed is expected to at least match the highway number. Anything less is considered ‘Wimpy’.
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Atlanta has its own version of traffic rules. For example, Ferraris and Lamborghinis owned by sports stars go first at a four-way stop. Cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go second. The trucks with the biggest tires go third. The HOV lanes are really designed just for the slow Floridians passing through who are used to hogging the left lane everywhere.
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light or stop sign, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. Unless there is a police car nearby.
6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It’s another offense that can get you shot.
7. Road construction is permanent and continuous. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day’s driving a bit more exciting. Generally, city roads other than the main streets have more potholes and bumps (usually speed bumps) than most dirt roads in the countryside.
8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, ladders, possums, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, furniture, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, and crows.
9. Be aware that spelling of street names may change from block to block, e.g., Clairmont, Claremont, Clairmonte.
10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been “accidentally activated”.
11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 75 in a 55-65 mph zone, k, e.g., you are considered a road hazard and will be “flipped off” accordingly. If you return the flip, you’ll be shot.
MOST IMPORTANT: If you get LOST, Look for a road named PEACHTREE… Then you are somewhere in Atlanta.
Yep, when I was driving trucks through Atlanta the truckers call I 285 the watermelon 500.
That’s funny…sounds like Dallas.
Coming back from buying a motorhome in Florida, was on I-75 in the middle of Atlanta at 2 am. There was virtually no traffic, which is why we were there at that time. I noticed a big jacked up pickup truck tailgating behind me who would weave half way into either lane on the sides of us. Finally, he roars up along side of me and, hanging completely out of his driver’s window, is sitting in the window opening facing me giving me the bird with both hands and shouting something!!! It was too dark to see who in the truck was depressing the gas pedal or steering.
Not sure what his issue was. I was one lane over from the right on six lanes, so maybe he just didn’t like me being there.
I just kept driving and once he dropped back through his window he sped away.
You almost made me spit up my coffee. Especially #8!
Beautiful.
We live near Chattanooga and until this year drove through Atlanta on I-285 west 12-16 times from late-August to late-November in order to go from I-75 to I-85, or the reverse. I agree with all rules, especially when driving a car or truck. However, I only found the congestion a problem. I dealt with that by getting into whatever lane I’d need pretty early, sometimes 8 miles early. We were the length of a tractor-trailer rig (63′) for most of those trips. Every so often traffic allowed me to drive my preferred speed (~62 mph), but often congestion demanded a much slower speed. Sadly, DW has chosen not to attend football games this year, so I won’t get to drive through Atlanta this year. I found myself mentally preparing for it a couple of weeks ago, but caught myself. Then I remembered we have two trips through Nashville this fall instead. Yikes!
Get a dash camera. Actually would like to have a 360 camera. Hard to argue with live video evidence. Show only to your lawyers.
What this piece sidesteps is that this primarily involves men. I’ve been driving for 40 years and every close call with road rage has been with other men. Just don’t engage further. And for some that’s where it all falls apart. I know I’ve had moments where my impulse went the wrong way, but luckily nothing further happened.
Totally agree, this is mostly a guy thing… but….Ahhh, men? Yes, actual men not pretend men. I keep hearing that no differences exist between men and women but I guess road rage is where the science denying kooks can find a difference between the two. Yes, two.
These lists are always so subjective.
New Mexico… polite???? must not have visited here.
Never honk your horn in Hawaii. You’ve been warned.
So what is the 50th state, the most polite? I see Idaho is 49. And I rolled over them all and found no other light state.
Hi, Vanessa. I finally found #50, Delaware. It’s white, between New Jersey and Maryland, so it’s hard to see. It scored 0/100. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Yes, but perhaps that was supposed to be *right not *white.
Totally referring to its color (or lack thereof) on the included map, but read whatever you want into it, Cancelproof.🙄 And, yes, it’s been very peaceful and quiet in here for the past month. Could actually focus on my “real” work.😉 Have a good evening/night. 😀 –Diane
The little white speck, got it, I figured some auto correct issue threw that out which was my first inclination and as well, no edit option on our end is working so figured it was a system glitch. Bad math. Never thought it was anything else but a system glitch Diane, but now I understand the reference. My slow brain did not engage that.
Good evening to you as well.
Gotcha. Yep. Vanessa was referring to not being able to find #50 on the map itself. I had to research it and found it in an article on the topic, then I had to find out where Delaware was (sorry, folks, never been east of Idaho and have forgotten my geography from 65 years ago), then was able to locate the little white speck on the map. Have a good night, Cancelproof. 😀 –Diane
Glad we’re on the same page. Remove white and the comma….. and replace with right. It reads perfect, thus the “auto correct”.
Best to you, I’ll leave you alone for another week or 2 or 3 probably and even tho I unsubscribed to the email notifications for direct access, I am still checking in and am still enjoying the forum and the newsletter. Today was my new exception….. 😇 and, have been on the road a lot.
I was wondering if you were traveling. Safe travels, always, Cancelproof. 😀 –Diane
BTW, my apologies for misinterpreting your comment regarding white and right. Sheesh! I was reading much more into it than just a possible typo, obviously. But that’s probably because your comments are usually on subjects much deeper than a mere typo. I’m sorry. Take care. 🤗 –Diane
No, it’s not, most New England states are 90%+ white.
Hi, Tex. He just thought it was a typo. No biggie. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com