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WASHINGTON — As many people prepare to hit the road for Memorial Day, a new study is uncovering the types of behaviors that are most likely to elicit road rage.
Distracted drivers are the most infuriating, according to Expedia.com’s 2014 Road Rage Report.
Almost 70 percent of the respondents said drivers who text, email or talk on the phone while driving are among the top five most annoying behaviors on the road.
The study, conducted by Northstar, surveyed more than 1,000 adult Americans to identify the behaviors that are likeliest to set them off while driving.
Despite people ranking distracted driving among the worst behaviors, 55 percent admitted to using their cellphones at least some of the time while driving, according to the research.
Below are other behaviors participants ranked among the top five most annoying or offensive driving habits. The percentages identify how many people ranked it in their top five.
- Tailgating (60 percent)
- Multi-taskers who apply makeup, eat or read while driving (54 percent)
- Drifting by straddling lanes or weaving between them (43 percent)
- Crawling by driving well below the speed limit (39 percent)
- Swerving or failing to signal before changing lanes or turning (38 percent)
- Left-lane hog who occupies the passing lane without moving (32 percent)
- Inconsiderate drivers who don’t let others merge (30 percent)
The rudest drivers are found in the largest cities, respondents said in the study. About 33 percent of people said New York City drivers were the least courteous.
Los Angeles drivers were not far behind with 22 percent of respondents saying drivers in the City of Angels are all but angelic and are the most rage-inducing.
Atlanta received 9 percent of respondents’ votes.
Northstar surveyed participants between April 29 and May 5, 2014. Sampling quota were used to ensure the sample is representative of the U.S. population in terms of age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/-3.1 percentage points.
Related Stories:
- Baltimore, D.C. rank among least courteous cities on road rage survey
- Distracted driving tickets skyrocket in Md.
- Ways to beat the traffic on Memorial Day weekend
- Texting, walking more risky than distracted driving
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