Oklahoma ranked 4th for most aggressive drivers in the country, according to Forbes
A new study by Forbes shows that drivers in some states experience aggressive drivers much more often than others.
(KDVR/NEXSTAR) -- Anyone who has ever sat behind the wheel of a car has witnessed that one other car on the road driving way too aggressively. You know the one, it's the car weaving in and out of traffic, cutting other cars off, and yelling at anyone in their way. The driver who you'd say has "road rage."
A new study by Forbes shows that drivers in some states experience these aggressive drivers much more often than others.
The study looked at several different categories and gave a percentage of drivers who reported certain confrontational behaviors and then gave each state a score from 0-100 based on their findings.
The behaviors that Forbes looked at included: being forced off the road, blocked from merging or changing lanes, cut off on purpose, tailgated, and insulted or threatened.
Landing at the top of the list with the most confrontational drivers was California where roughly 47% of drivers say they have had another driver cut them off on purpose and 32% have been on the receiving end of yelling, insults, curses or threats.
The Golden State also finished highly ranked in other categories such as having had another driver exit their vehicle to yell at or fight with them, having had another driver try to block their car from merging or changing lanes, and or having had someone tailgate them on purpose.
Right behind California at two and three are Missouri and Utah where both states see plenty of drivers cut them off on purpose with Missouri being ranked as the state with the highest percentage of drivers who have been yelled at (33%).
A large percentage of Utah drivers say they have been on the other end of some rude or offensive gestures while on the road (54%) and have been honked at in frustration by other drivers (61%).
The rest of Forbes' top ten rounded as follows:
| Rank | State | Total Score Out of 100 | Forced Off the Road | Blocked From Merging or Changing Lanes | Cut Off on Purpose | Tailgated | Insulted or Threatened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 100.00 | 11.5% | 35.5% | 47.5% | 60.5% | 32.0% |
| 2 | Missouri | 99.44 | 13.5% | 37.0% | 48.0% | 59.5% | 33.5% |
| 3 | Utah | 88.48 | 8.5% | 42.5% | 49.5% | 64.5% | 31.5% |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 86.92 | 12.5% | 37.5% | 42.5% | 52.0% | 23.5% |
| 5 | Colorado | 85.59 | 7.0% | 38.5% | 46.0% | 56.0% | 31.5% |
| 6 | Mississippi | 85.20 | 13.5% | 35.5% | 43.0% | 43.5% | 24.0% |
| 7 | Virginia (Tie) | 83.97 | 15.5% | 40.5% | 40.0% | 51.5% | 22.0% |
| 7 | Indiana (Tie) | 83.97 | 9.0% | 33.5% | 44.5% | 58.5% | 27.5% |
| 9 | New York | 77.85 | 12.5% | 37.0% | 33.5% | 46.5% | 23.5% |
| 10 | Maryland | 77.24 | 10.5% | 39.5% | 45.5% | 47.0% | 27.0% |
As for the rest of the U.S., you can see how your state ranks on the map below:
Forbes' survey also asked people which types of vehicles they saw exhibiting road rage the most. Trucks ranked the highest, with 33% of those surveyed saying they had encountered road rage from truck drivers.
Minivan drivers were reportedly the least aggressive, with only 7% of drivers reporting road rage from them.
You can find Forbes' full study on their website.
How to drive defensively against an aggressive driver
A great way to hopefully avoid situations with aggressive drivers that can result in a confrontation, an accident, or worse is to drive defensively.
The Health & Safety Institute has laid out several rules to follow if you want to be safer on the road if you run into aggressive drivers or any other conditions that can affect your driving.
Some of their rules include not speeding, scanning and keeping a vigilant eye on the road ahead and behind you, leaving space between you and other cars, and preparing for the unexpected.
HSI has 15 rules in total that can help make you a more defensive and safer driver. You can review those rules here.