Road Rage Capitals of the U.S.

When New York City drivers think they've been cut off by another car or otherwise disrespected on the road, their likely response is to lay on the horn, curse, make obscene gestures and shake their fists in the air wildly. In a city where tailgating, fast driving and talking on cell phones while behind the wheel are a part of daily life — think back to any taxi ride you've ever taken in New York, and you'll get the gist of this city's driving style — it may not come as a surprise that this is road-rage central.

Bing: Road Rage

Southern manners seem to have gone out the window on Dallas roads. The city has the highest incidence of admitted tailgaters than any of the other cities surveyed by AutoVantage, and a high proclivity toward distracted driving. Further contributing to its No. 2 ranking in the road-rage survey is its speeding problem; 62 percent of drivers say they witness speeding every day. Earlier this year, a Dallas driver rammed into another car while going 60 mph, sending that car careening into a truck and its driver and passengers to the hospital.

Link: What Is Road Rage?

The automotive center of the country is also the capital of texting and e-mailing while driving. Forty-seven percent of surveyed drivers said they observe the use of handheld devices behind the wheel daily. Detroit drivers also have an attitude problem; 14 percent admitted to making obscene gestures while behind the wheel (a tie with New York City drivers), and 2 percent said their response to reckless or inconsiderate drivers was to intentionally slam into those cars. In one recent incident, a bicyclist was targeted; after an argument at a light, a driver rammed into the bike twice.

Video: Road Rage Quiz

Even police aren't immune to road rage in Atlanta. In a 2006 incident, a driver allegedly cut off an off-duty police officer on the highway; the cop then pulled up next to the driver and the passenger brandished a gun. Not a good move. In terms of their everyday driving styles, Atlanta residents are known for cutting into traffic without warning; they're the second-worst tailgating offenders of the cities surveyed; and they're highly prone to slamming on their brakes and running red lights.

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According to AutoVantage's survey, running red lights has become something of a hobby for Minneapolis drivers; 34 percent of those surveyed admitted doing it daily. They were also highly likely to tailgate another driver who annoyed them. In one particularly gruesome incident, a Minneapolis man who thought he'd been cut off by another driver followed the offending car to a parking lot where he rammed into it repeatedly. When the driver fled her vehicle, he hit her with his car.

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Phoenix drivers consider each other to be obnoxious, according to the AutoVantage survey. Thirty percent of motorists said they think their fellow drivers are rude, the highest number nationwide, aside from Miami, which also scored 30 percent in this category. Phoenix resident Charlene Laswell explained the problem to the Arizona Republic newspaper: "They don't put on their signals when they switch lanes, they tailgate, they run red lights, they don't pay attention to what they're doing."

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Could having the 10th-worst commute in the country have anything to do with Miami's road rage problem? No doubt. According to The Daily Beast, Miami drivers on certain roads are subject to 183 hours of bottleneck congestion each week. While stuck in traffic, they're more likely than drivers in any other city to cut over without warning. There's also an 88 percent chance they're talking on the phone while behind the wheel and a 48 percent chance they'll curse you out.

Bing: Miami

A recent road-rage incident in Houston resulted in a murder charge when a hit-and-run suspect allegedly decided to shoot at the car he had crashed into. Houston drivers are among the worst speeders and tailgaters, according to the survey, and 1 percent of those surveyed admitted to ramming into cars in reaction to aggressive driving maneuvers by others on the road. They also have the highest incidence of gabbing on the phone, a key indicator of distracted driving, of all the cities surveyed.

Link: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

More Cincinnati residents surveyed by AutoVantage admitted to sending text messages or e-mails while driving than anywhere else in the country, except for Phoenix, which tied Cincinnati in this category. They also copped to hurling more expletives at fellow drivers than residents of any city other than Miami. Further marring Cincinnati's image is the fact that its neighbor to the northeast, Cleveland, made AutoVantage's list for the opposite reason: It has the second-least amount of road rage in the country.

Bing Images: Cincinatti

Slamming on the brakes and speeding are among San Diegans primary offenses when it comes to the ingredients leading up to and resulting from road-rage incidents. They're also just as likely as New Yorkers to curse out others whose driving they object to. San Diego's appearance in the No. 10 slot reflects a big tumble for the city, whose drivers ranked as the ninth-most-courteous a couple of years ago. Also notable is that San Diego beat out both Los Angeles and San Francisco, which tied for 11th place in the most courteous drivers category.

Bing: San Diego

Claire Martin has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Outside magazine. She's the former deputy editor of Men's Journal and currently lives in Los Angeles, where she covers technology, travel and food.

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