With Christmas quickly approaching, many people are gearing up for holiday travel. According to AAA, nearly 80 percent of drivers reported experiencing significant frustration, aggression, or road rage at least once in the past 30 days. Recently released results from GasBuddy's annual aggressive holiday driving study indicate a 48% increase in aggressive driving behaviors among U.S. drivers during the holiday season.
The study ranked the top 50 U.S. metros based on aggressiveness, categorizing them as the "naughtiest and nicest holiday-driving cities." They used data from GasBuddy's optional Drives Feature in the GasBuddy app, which enables drivers to assess their habits and enhance fuel efficiency. The study analyzed 8,149,863 drives in the top 50 metropolitan areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau. This involved tracking incidents of fast acceleration, hard braking, and speeding during trips.
3 Florida cities made the naughty list.
Orlando and Jacksonville claimed positions 3 and 4 in the top 5, while Tampa earned the 11th spot. In an interesting twist, Miami was on the "nice" list, establishing itself as one of the least aggressive driving cities this year.
The study highlighted Tucson, AZ, as the city at the top of the "naughty" list. Meanwhile, Minneapolis, MN, experienced a positive shift, securing the title of the city with the nicest holiday drivers and climbing six spots from its 7th position in 2022.
Additionally, the study mentioned that the most frequent aggressive driving habits during the holidays are hard braking (1), speeding (2), and rapid acceleration (3).
"Driving during the holiday season can be stressful, but it's important to remember to stay calm and courteous on the road," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a news release. "Additionally, aggressive driving can negatively impact fuel efficiency, causing drivers to waste money that could be spent on holiday celebrations or gifts for loved ones."
Take a look at the full rankings here.
