BOSTON — The holiday season is known for being merry and bright, but hectic schedules, last-minute shopping and travel both near and far can translate to the roads in the form of aggressive driving. A new survey from GasBuddy reveals that drivers in certain cities across the United States are up to 54% more aggressive than the average driver.
GasBuddy examined millions of drives during the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The study revealed Tucson, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., as the cities with the most and least aggressive holiday drivers, respectively. GasBuddy classifies aggressive driving habits as quick acceleration, hard braking and speeding. Tucson secured and maintained its No. 1 spot on the “naughty list” for the second consecutive year.
The Naughty List
The top 10 cities with the most aggressive holiday drivers
- Tucson, Ariz.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Richmond, Va.
- Oklahoma City, Okla.
- Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Memphis, Tenn.
Three Florida cities made the “naughty list” this year, making Florida the most aggressive driving state overall. Three cities fell off the list this year. Detroit; Raleigh, N.C., and St. Louis were replaced by Memphis, Birmingham and Tampa-St. Petersburg.
The Nice List
The top 10 cities with the least aggressive holiday drivers
- Portland, Ore.
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Seattle, Wash.
- Las Vegas, Nev.
- Rochester, N.Y.
- Providence, R.I.
- Minneapolis, Minn.
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Buffalo, N.Y.
The complete city rankings can be found here.
“The holidays can bring out both the best and worst of us. Trying to run around to get everything done and prepared before the holidays, coupled with high prices and increased traffic, we see shorter fuses on the road and more stress contribute to wasting money,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “In addition to the safety element, driving aggressively and rushing around bites into consumer wallets by reducing fuel efficiency. As 2022 has brought some of the highest gas prices ever seen, taking a deep breath and slowing down while driving can improve drivers' gas mileage up to 25%, meaning safe drivers will have extra savings on hand to spend during the holiday season.”
Boston-based GasBuddy, a PDI company, is a crowd-sourced fuel-price service. It also offers Pay with GasBuddy payment cards that offer cents-off per gallon at virtually all gas stations across the United States.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.