Poll: Arizona has a bounty of 'confrontational drivers'

If you think Arizona motorists are inconsiderate, you’re not alone.

Arizona has the most “confrontational drivers’’ in the nation, a nationwide survey of 10,000 licensed drivers done by Forbes Advisor found.

How bad is it?

More than one in five of the 200 Arizona motorists questioned reported they have been forced off the road, the new report found. That’s second only to Illinois.

But that’s just part of the reason that Forbes Advisor rated Arizona the worst.

More than 56% of drivers here said that other motorists blocked them from changing lanes. And 51% said they had been cut off on purpose.

And a whopping 81% said they had been yelled at, insulted or threatened.

For many Arizonans, it didn’t stop there: Nearly one in three Arizonans said that another driver actually has gotten out of his or her vehicle to yell at or even fight with them.

Nationwide, Forbes Advisor said one of the top reasons cited for feeling road rage was heavy traffic, a factor cited by nearly 40% of those questioned.

But other elements also enter into it — and can combine.

More than 28% said they already were feeling stressed, with a third saying they were running late.

And starting out angry even before getting behind the wheel was cited by close to 33% of those who said they were guilty of road rage themselves.

Where motorists are located also plays a role.

Drivers reported experiencing road rage most frequently on city streets.

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Close behind are freeways or highways.

But close to one out of every seven people who found themselves in a road rage situation weren’t even on the roads but instead in parking lots. And intersections also were the site of problems in 12% of situations.

So, where is the best place to escape? Rural roads, where motorists said just 7% of road rage incidents had occurred.

This isn’t a Southwest thing: Of the Top 10 states rated the worst for road rage, Texas was the only state in the region on that list.

The rest of the list of worst road rage situations, according to Forbes, is a mixed bag.

Tiny Rhode Island came in at No. 2 at least in part because more than 96% of drivers there were the reported that another motorist had yelled at them, insulted them, cursed at them or made threats. That compares with just 81% in Arizona.

At No. 3 was Vest Virginia where 77% of motorists said they had been tailgated, with 61% saying someone had left their vehicle to yell at or pick a fight with them.

So, where are the most courteous drivers?

In Delaware, according to the new report.

While 41% of motorists there said they had been yelled at, insulted or threatened, just 11% said they had been cut off on purpose.

Someone exited their vehicle just 8% of the time. And only 5% said they had been forced off the road — less than a quarter of the figure in Arizona.

The survey was conducted between July 7 and Aug. 3 by OnePoll. It has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.