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Survey Ranks the States with the Rudest Drivers

A survey asking drivers to rank the states with the rudest drivers found that the worst offenders were from Idaho.

by Staff
September 16, 2014
Survey Ranks the States with the Rudest Drivers

Graphic via Insure.com.

2 min to read


Graphic via Insure.com.

A survey asking drivers to rank the states with the rudest drivers found that the worst offenders were from Idaho.  

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According to those surveyed by Insure.com, Idaho's drivers represented a volitile mix of rude, with some drivers moving too slowly, causing other drivers to speed around them agressively and flipping off the slow drivers. Idaho residents said this perfect storm of rude was likely caused by the state's twisting mountain roads being driven by inexperienced drivers, making drivers more familiar with the roads impatient. 

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The survey of 2,000 licensed drivers across the country found Washington, D.C., the second rudest region, with New York coming in third. Wyoming and Massachusetts round out the top 5.

When asked what drives drivers mad about other drivers, talking on a cellphone was number one, with 47% of responses. Tailgating, not signaling turns, weaving in and out of lanes and driving too fast were also top behaviors considered rude.

The survey also tracked where drivers taking the survey were from. The biggest haters in the nation came from California. Californians found drivers from most of the western states to be rude and threw in New York and Vermont for good measure.

Texas drivers were also very vocal in hating Californians and drivers from some of its closest neighbors, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana.

North and South Carolina had a strong rivalry going, with members of each state pointing to each other as the rudest drivers. This is in stark contrast to the more cordial North and South Dakota, who thought that only other states had rude drivers.

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To cap it all off, nearly half of all drivers surveyed felt that about a quarter of drivers should not be on the road at all. As many as 21% felt that half of other drivers should not be on the road.

The top 10 rudest states in the survey were:

1. Idaho
2. Washington D.C.
3. New York
4. Wyoming
5. Massachusetts
6. Delaware and Vermont (tie)
8. New Jersey
9. Nevada
10. Utah

If you’d like to see where your state ranks, click here.

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