BOSTON — Road rage tends to creep up during the holidays given the heightened stress and anxiety the season ignites. GasBuddy, the travel and navigation app, reveals which U.S cities are the most aggressive drivers and therefore bigger gas guzzlers.
This study examined millions of GasBuddy Drives data during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend defined as Nov. 25 through Nov. 29, 2020, and looked at which cities had the highest frequency of aggressive driving habits like rapid acceleration, hard braking and speeding.
The Top 10 Cities With the Most Aggressive Holiday Drivers
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- Sacramento, Calif.
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale
- Raleigh, N.C.
- San Francisco
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Detroit
- Charlotte, N.C.
Half of the cities listed in the Top 10 list are making their second “scroogy” appearance, having also been included in last year’s study. Los Angeles and San Diego each jumped five spots respectively, to now hold the titles as the cities with the “scroogiest” drivers.
The complete city rankings can be found here.
“California issuing another round of stay-at-home orders immediately ahead of Thanksgiving on Nov. 19 could have been the catalyst for the highest percent of Grinch-style aggressive driving occurring in the country,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “When we are anxious and stressed, it surfaces in a multitude of ways including how we drive. Given how this year is going, it’s likely we’ll also see a higher level of aggressive driving ahead of Christmas.”
The findings were compiled using data from GasBuddy’s opt-in Drives Feature in the GasBuddy app that offers drivers an assessment of their driving habits during their trip in an effort to improve fuel efficiency.
GasBuddy examined Drives data in the top 50 metropolitan areas by population as defined by the United States Census Bureau from Nov. 25 through Nov. 29, 2020, noting the collective percentage of Poor, Good and Great trips per city. Each driver's trip receives a grade of Poor, Good and Great, which is defined by the number of aggressive driving incidents that occur: hard braking, quick acceleration and speeding.
Founded in 2000, Boston-based GasBuddy allows users to locate gas stations based on fuel prices, location, ratings and reviews.
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.