If you want a relaxing driving experience, you may want to avoid Idaho, since drivers there were voted the rudest in the U.S. in a new survey by Insure.com.
To decide on which states were the rudest, the insurance advice site conducted a survey of 2,000 licensed drivers, half men, half women, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The results didn't just determine locations with the rudest drivers, but also showed which drivers disliked those from other states the most.
"Maybe I'm just used to the aggressive, overly-caffeinated (on Diet Coke) Utah drivers. That's why everyone in Idaho seems to be driving so slowly," said Matt Stubbs, who recently moved to Idaho, according to Insure.com. "If you've driven that hundreds of times, you know (the road) and pick up your speed. So those driving them for the first time may have the experienced drivers honking their horns and flipping them the bird."
The rudest drivers in the country can be found in Idaho, Washington, D.C., New York, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Delaware, Vermont, New Jersey, Nevada and Utah, according to the survey.
Meanwhile the nicest drivers can be found in North Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire, Montana, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington State and North Carolina.
Click here to see the complete list.
"(New Yorkers are) known for their lack of respect to other drivers," said Big Apple denizen Jordan Perch, according to Insure.com. "It's not often that you see a driver in New York raise their hand (politely) or make some other gesture saying thank you to another driver for letting them through. What's more, pretty much no driver in New York bothers to indicate before turning."
What Makes Someone a Rude Driver?
For its study, Insure.com also asked respondents to select from a pick-list of 18 annoying behaviors.
Talking on a cell phone while driving annoyed 47 percent of those who took the survey, tailgating bothered 37 percent, followed by failing to signal turns (35 percent), weaving in and out of lanes (28 percent) and speeding (26 percent).
"Do not play dumb. Get your headlights fixed so you don't blind me with you bright lights," said Bill Begal, president of his own D.C.-area disaster-restoration firm, according to Insure.com "The good ol' low beam is out, so I will use my brights. Arggh!"
Survey respondents added some pet peeves of their own as well. Some of the added behaviors included: running red lights and stop signs, preventing other drivers from merging, driving too fast in parking lots, making obscene gestures, excessive honking, shouting profanities, and driving with bright headlights on.
Approximately 50 percent of those surveyed felt that more than a quarter of other drivers shouldn't even be allowed on the road. At least 21 percent feel that way about half of other drivers, according to the study.
Let The Haters Hate
The survey found that California leads the top five states where drivers dislike those from three or more states.
Those in the Golden State are most resentful of drivers from places like Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Vermont.
Texas finished second, due to their negative thoughts about those from California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
There was a three-way tie for 3rd place among drivers from Georgia, who don't drivers from Alabama, Delaware and Florida, Illinois (Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin) and Pennsylvania (Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia).
"When doing the speed limit," said Michelle Brammer, a resident of Bear, Delaware, according to Insure.com, "I should not have to wonder about the make of a vehicle behind me, due to the fact the car is tailgating me so horrifically I cannot even see its hood!"
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