There are drivers in one U.S. city who are definitely on Santa Claus’ bad list this year. The “Naughtiest and Nicest Holiday Driving Cities” study from GasBuddy, a company that helps drivers find cheaper gas along their route, came out earlier this month. It found that drivers in Tucson, Arizona, were the worst.
The drivers from the city on the West Coast were followed by drivers from Nashville, Tennessee, who came in second. Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, came in third and fourth, respectively.
Along with Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, New Orleans, Louisiana, Richmond, Virginia, Salt Lake City, Utah, Buffalo, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee were also on the list of bad places in the country.
GasBuddy says that the company collected data through an optional prompt in its mobile app. This prompt asks users to rate their drive habits in order to help them use less gas. The company that made the app said that it also graphs out where users may have driven badly along their journey.
The study looked at more than 8 million drives over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the top 50 metropolitan areas by population, as measured by the US Census Bureau. The results showed that “U.S. drivers are up to 48% more aggressive on the roads during the holiday season.” The company said that hard stopping, speeding, and taking off quickly are the most common aggressive driving behaviors during the holidays.
It was also found by GasBuddy which places had the nicest holiday drivers, with Minneapolis, Minnesota, coming in first. Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, Cleveland, Ohio, Norfolk, Virginia, Hartford, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Nevada, Rochester, New York, and Columbus, Ohio were the other places that were shown. Providence, Rhode Island came in second.
“It can be stressful to drive during the holidays, but it’s important to remember to stay calm and polite on the road,” said GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan. “Aggressive driving can also hurt fuel economy, costing drivers money they could have spent on holiday celebrations or gifts for family and friends,” he said.
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Accordiing to GasBuddy, these are the 10 places where holiday drivers are the most aggressive:
- Tucson, Arizona
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Orlando, Florida
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Richmond, Virginia
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Memphis, Tennessee
You may be interested to know that Pittsburgh ranked 36th out of 50 major cities. Three places in Florida are on the list of the most dangerous cities for drivers. Those cities are in Florida.
Here are the 10 places where drivers are the least likely to be rude:
- Portland, Oregon
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Seattle, Washington
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Rochester, New York
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Buffalo, New York
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said, “The holidays can bring out the best and worst in us. With everyone rushing to get everything done and ready before the holidays, along with higher prices and more traffic, we see shorter fuse fuses on the road and more stress, which leads to wasteful spending.”
“Aside from the safety issue, driving aggressively and quickly costs people money because it uses more gas.” As gas costs have been some of the highest ever in 2022, drivers can save up to 25% on gas by taking a deep breath and slowing down. This means that safe drivers will have extra money to spend on the holidays.