Driving can be a stressful experience across the United States, but Americans in different states tend to lose their cool more than others.
Louisiana, known for its beautiful swamps and magnolia trees, actually has some of the angriest drivers and highest levels of road rage in the country, according to data analyzed by Consumer Affairs.
Aggressive and careless driving in the state accounts for 62.2 percent of accidents and has one of the highest rates of speeding tickets.
New Mexico has the second-highest rate of road rage in the country, with Montana, Colorado and Arkansas rounding out the top five.
While New Hampshire has the calmest drivers in the U.S., with aggressive and careless driving causing 14.6 percent of crashes, it is followed by Rhode Island, California, Virginia and South Dakota as the states with the least road rage.
Driving can be a stressful experience across the United States, but Americans in different states tend to lose their cool more than others.
Louisiana drivers are the angriest and have the highest levels of road rage in the country, according to data analyzed by ConsumerAffairs. Pictured: Road rage incident in Abbeville
Louisiana has been ranked as the state with the angriest drivers using data including: road rage incidents with a gun, crashes with fatalities due to aggressive or careless driving, percentage of crashes due to aggressive or careless driving, and speeding violations.
It has a road rage score of 47.32 and has the highest fines for careless driving and speeding in the US.
New Mexico follows the southeastern state with a road rage index of 44.66 and has the highest rate of confrontations between drivers involving a gun.
Approximately half of all car accidents are due to aggressive or careless driving.
Montana is surprisingly home to the third angriest driver in the country and has a road rage index of 42.44.
The state’s open, uncongested roads can encourage speeding, and it has a higher rate of fatal crashes related to careless driving despite a citation rate that is half the national average.
Aggressive and careless driving in Louisiana accounts for 62.2 percent of accidents and has one of the highest rates of speeding tickets.
New Hampshire has the calmest drivers in the United States, with aggressive and careless driving conditions causing 14.6 percent of accidents. Pictured: Quiet roads in New Hampshire
Colorado and Arkansas make up the top five states for road rage, with scores of 41.42 and 40.95 respectively.
New Hampshire has quiet roads and is the state with the lowest road rage in the country, with a score of 3.07.
The number of deaths due to aggressive and careless driving is 15.8 percent, which is by far the lowest in the United States.
Rhode Island has the second-calmest drivers in the country and has a road rage index of 8.19.
About 28 percent of car accidents in the state are the result of aggressive and careless driving.
Rhode Island, California, Virginia and South Dakota are next as the states with the lowest road rage. Pictured: Newport Bridge in Rhode Island
California was ranked as having the third-lowest number of angry drivers with a score of 8.33, even though it has more cars than any other state.
California has a surprisingly low level of road rage despite its heavily congested roads.
It was ranked as the state with the third-fewest angry drivers, with a score of 8.33, despite having more cars than any other state.
Virginia and South Dakota follow with low road rage scores of 8.51 and 9.48.
The percentage of accidents due to aggressive and careless driving in Virginia stands at 20.7 percent, while the number of road rage incidents involving firearms in South Dakota is zero.
Not everyone who drives safely and courteously follows the rules, so the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has provided tips on how to avoid road rage situations.
It tells drivers to pull over and let the other driver pass to avoid a confrontation, give speeding drivers room to avoid a crash, pay attention to their surroundings to avoid an unsafe driver, and call 911 to report someone harassing them.
Those experiencing road rage are advised to stop and take deep breaths until they calm down.
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