New York City Drivers Filled With Most Road Rage

Those of the opinion that New York City residents are angry and aggressive now have actual research to back up their claim. A new survey says New York drivers have the worst road rage of any city in the United States. New York takes the dubious title from Miami, which topped the list for the past four years.

The study commissioned by a consulting and marketing group called Affinion Group said New York drivers are the nation's "angriest, most aggressive... who tailgate, speed, honk their horns, overreact and lose their tempers." The group's Michael Bush said told Reuters:

"New Yorkers were most likely to wave their fists or arms. They were most likely to lay on the horn and they were most likely to make some sort of obscene gesture."

Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis/St. Paul round out the top five. Miami drivers have apparently learned how to play nice -- the city finished seventh this time around. Oddly, Los Angeles, the birthplace of road rage, was no where to be found on the list.

On the other hand, Portland, Oregon takes the prize as the city with the most courteous drivers. Cleveland, Baltimore, Sacramento and Pittsbugh followed closely (but not too closely, apparently!) behind. Bush added:

"The real surprise to me is that there is no geographic way to break down road rage. It is very much on a city-by-city basis, as opposed to geographic area."

The study also looked at commonly observed driving habits. 84% of respondents say they see someone talking on a cell phone while driving every day. 37% see people texting. 58% report seeing speeders, 53% tailgaters.

When asked what their reaction is to a rude driver, 43% say they honk their horn at the offending driver. 1% admit to slamming into the other car. Talk about aggressive...