California is now owner of a dubious roadway honor: having the nation’s most aggressive drivers.
In a new report from website Your Mechanic, California is home to the most frequent rate of aggressive driving events like speeding, hard braking and accelerating with an average of 6.6 minutes in between each aggressive driving event per journey.
“Contrary to what one might expect considering this result, Californian traffic law is stricter than many states and even treats aggressive driving as an automobile crime,” the report stated.
“I agree with that, we are the most aggressive in my opinion,” CHP Sgt. Perry Heidebrink said. “We have the most population. people have long commutes because the cost to live in one area so they commute into that area. So we definitely have the paths that are congested in the morning, and the same paths that are congested in the evening.”
Heidebrink has seen it all in his 23 years on the California Highway Patrol.
He says there is a slight decrease in aggression during the rain, but it doesn’t stop accidents. And when you do the numbers, you can see why.
In that same report, California is the second-most congested state on the roadway in the nation.
The Golden State has 29.4 million registered vehicles and 174,989 miles of road, averaging to 168 vehicles per mile.
Hawaii ranked first with 1.2 million registered vehicles, but only 4,430 miles of roadway, turning out an average of 280 vehicles per mile.
With all that said, California didn’t break the top 10 when it came to “Least Skilled Drivers.”
Still, California landed fourth in the worst state to drive in with all considerations, including the fourth highest vehicle theft rate.