Arizona ranks first for road rage in U.S., report says

PHOENIX - A new report says Arizona drivers have the worst road rage in the country.

Forbes Advisor asked 10,000 drivers about things like tailgating and being forced off the road. Arizona reported the highest rate of confrontational drivers.

According to the report, 31.5% of Arizona drivers say that another driver has gotten out of their vehicle to yell or fight. The Grand Canyon State also has the highest percentages of people being blocked from changing lanes, cut off and threatened.

Nearly one-third of Arizona drivers say they've experienced road rage very frequently.

Drivers ranking first in the country for road rage doesn't come as a surprise to some Arizonans.

"Honestly, you expect it from Arizona. I was born and raised here. You expect it a lot in Arizona," Denisse Osornio said.

"I feel like people often cut each other off, they don't use turn signals, it's hot, and mostly just not paying attention," Jennifer Orozzo said.

According to Forbes Advisor, the results are based on a questionnaire given to 200 drivers in each state last month.

"We considered metrics that range from percentage of drivers forced off the road by another driver to percentage of drivers that have exited their vehicle to fight with them," said Zoi Galarraga, a Forbes Advisor. 

They also took the percentage of drivers being cut off on purpose and being blocked from changing lanes.

"The top reasons for road rage were heavy traffic, already feeling stressed, running late and already being angry," Galarraga said.

A driver says she experienced this firsthand on Roosevelt Street in Phoenix.

"She was just yelling at me. I was just putting gas at a Circle K, but only one of the pumps was open. She came at me, she got out of the car with a knife and started running at me, so I had to make a police report and everything," the victim said.

Some drivers admit to contributing to road rage and others try to keep their emotions in check because they fear the consequences.

"Definitely somebody dying, that's the worst thing, dying over something so simple, it's just not worth it," Danielle Knight said.

This is the second time Forbes Advisor has done this study – last year Arizona ranked no. 31.

Rounding out the top five are Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia and Oklahoma.

Drivers in Delaware are the least confrontational, according to the report.