According to the 2025 Travel Vacationer survey, more than 75 percent of American respondents said they plan to take a road trip this summer. It is, after all, a time-honored tradition. But anyone hoping to hit the open road needs to know one thing: some drivers just aren’t very nice, especially in certain states.
On May 1, Consumer Affairs released its list of the states with the worst road rage, giving would-be road trippers a heads up on where they should be extra cautious.
It identified the states with the worst road rage by “analyzing data on fatal crashes involving careless or reckless driving, violations for dangerous driving, and traffic incidents involving gun violence,” the report stated about its methodology. And after looking at the data, it named Louisiana the state with the highest road rage, a dishonor it has received for two years in a row.
“Nearly 60 percent of the state’s fatal crashes and traffic deaths were linked to aggressive or careless driving, the highest rates in the nation,” the findings stated. “Louisiana also has the highest overall rates of fatal crashes and deaths involving aggressive or careless driving per 100,000 people. Additionally, it has the second-highest rate of traffic violations for aggressive or careless driving or speeding.”
This careless driving can also come with serious consequences (besides the potential of hurting yourself or others), including up to 90 days in jail for first-time offenders charged with “reckless driving” and up to six months in jail for second-time offenders, Consumer Affairs reported.
Though it’s not the only state where drivers need to find a little zen.
New Mexico took the No. 2 spot “not least because of its comparatively high rate of traffic incidents involving gun violence, which is almost four times the national rate,” the findings stated. “Unfortunately, this trend also aligns with the state’s general gun violence rates: Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention group, notes that New Mexico’s gun violence rate is almost double the national average.”
Rounding out the top three offenders is Colorado, which has the highest number of violations for aggressive or careless driving or speeding per 100,000 people, the findings revealed, adding that this is “over eight times the national average. That helps explain how Colorado climbed one spot in our ranking, moving up from fourth place last year.”
Arkansas and Montana rounded out the top five, while Maine was named the calmest of all the states in the nation for driving.
See the entire list so you’re fully prepared for your next road trip at consumeraffairs.com.
