New York Ranks High Among States With The Most Confrontational Drivers

The stereotype that New York has some of the most aggressive drivers on the planet is no longer an understatement.

Heading into work today, a car passed me while I was driving the speed limit. This person then proceeded to tailgate a garbage truck and flew through a red light.

Wherever they were going, their actions on the road not only risked their life, but the lives of the people around them.

Aggressive drivers are nothing new, but it does feel like there's even more angry people on the road these days. This is leading to a rising, yet dangerous phenomenon - road rage attacks.

These attacks occur when a disgruntled driver is enraged enough to step out of their vehicle to physically confront another driver.  These incidents can sometimes escalate to a physical altercation, or worse, gun violence.

Road rage shootings are a growing problem, with data saying these violent incidents surged by 400% between 2014 and 2023. According to The Trace, 3,095 people were shot by an angry driver within that frame of time, resulting in 777 fatalities.

Thankfully, New York ranked alongside New Jersey and Iowa as the states with the least amount of armed road rage incidents.  That doesn't mean the Empire State is guilt-free when it comes to aggressive drivers.

Read More: Americans Say New York Drivers Are Among Nation's Worst

A new study from Forbes compared all 50 states to see which have the worst road rage and New York ranked among the top.

New York ranked 12th overall, with a score of 65.32 out of 100.  Here's how the state performed based on feedback from residents.

• 24% say they frequently experience road rage 
• 64% said they have been yelled at, insulted, or threatened
• 46% said they were blocked from changing lanes
• 29% said they have been cut off on purpose
• 9.5% of residents say they have been forced off the road
• 17.5% experienced a driver stepping out of their vehicle to fight/yell at them

Check out the infographic below to see how the other 49 states performed on this survey:

The main areas where one experiences road rage are city streets (29.18%), highways (26.59%), followed by parking lots (14.9%), intersections (12.36%), and rural roads (6.99%).

Respondents guilty of engaging in road rage said their biggest triggers are heavy traffic (39.35%), already feeling stressed (38.06%), and running late (33.89%).

About 32% of admitted road ragers said they flew off the handle because they were already angry while about 27% of them said they were feeling tired.

Forbes said that it's never a good idea to engage in road rage as insurance rates skyrocket following an accident that causes property damage or results in injuries.

This report comes on the heels of a new troubling survey that found CNY drivers have some of the highest distracted driving rates.

Read More: CNY Among Most Ticketed in the State for Distracted Driving

Police thank you in advance for keeping your hands on the steering wheel, your eyes on the road, and your temper under control.

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