• “Texters” enrage fellow drivers most.
  • Edging “Tailgaters” and “Left Lane Hogs” on list of most deplorable driver behaviors.
  • Inside the car, the “Backseat Driver” is least popular.
  • New York City drivers tabbed as nation’s rudest.

BELLEVUE, Wash: Expedia.com®, one of the world’s largest full service travel sites, has released the results of the Expedia 2015 Road Rage Report, a yearly analysis of driving etiquette.

The study was commissioned by Expedia® and conducted by GfK, an independent global market research company. Among other queries, GfK asked 1,000 Americans to rank the behavior of their fellow motorists in order of aggravation.

For the second year running, “The Texter” generated the most fury, earning the scorn of 26% of Americans. “The Tailgater” (13%) ranked second, narrowly edging out “The Left Lane Hog” (12%), “The Crawler” (10%) and “The Multitasker” (7%). The full Expedia 2015 Road Rage Report, as well as an illustrative infographic, can be found on the Expedia Viewfinder blog.

The least popular in-car behavior is “back-seat driving,” cited as the top peeve by 52% of Americans. The “Reluctant Co-Pilot” – the co-pilot who won’t help navigate – ranked second, by 12% of Americans, followed by the “Radio Hog” (10%), the “Snoozer” (8%), the “Shoe Remover” (7%) and the “Snacker” (6%).

 

Americans: Drive As I Say, Not As I Do

Fifty-one percent of Americans report that they loathe sharing the road with bad drivers, more than cyclists, buses, taxis, joggers and walkers combined. Nearly all Americans (97%) rate themselves as “careful” drivers, but feel that only 29% of fellow drivers merit the description.

Sixty-one percent admit to speeding, while 29% admit to following other vehicles too closely.

Twenty-six percent have yelled or used profanity at another driver. Seventeen percent have made a rude gesture, but 53% have been on the receiving end of one. One quarter of Americans admit to “regularly or occasionally” talking on their mobile phone while driving.

Americans offered multiple reasons for driving misbehavior: 21% reported that they were running late. Fourteen percent felt provoked by other drivers and 13% felt triggered by another driver who wasn’t paying attention.

Four percent of Americans report having exited their vehicle to angrily engage with another motorist, and 13% of Americans have felt physically threatened by another driver. The news was not all dire: 40% of Americans did report having stopped to help another driver in distress.

 

New York City Drivers Rank As Nation’s Rudest

Among major cities, New York City was cited as having the rudest drivers according to 42% of Americans. Thirty-two percent chose Los Angeles drivers, 18% felt the nation’s rudest drivers could be found in Chicago, while 16% said the same of Washington, DC. Only 1% of Americans felt that Portland, Oregon drivers were the nation’s rudest.