Summer heat isn't just making drivers sweat. Studies have shown that people's tempers flare in extreme heat, which can lead to aggressive driving and an increase in road rage.
Extreme heat has been associated with a range of mental health impacts including increases in irritability and symptoms of depression and with an increase in suicide, according to the American Psychiatric Association. It can also affect behavior, contributing to increased aggression, incidence of domestic violence, and increased use of alcohol or other substances to cope with stress.
Research has also linked high temperatures to problems with memory, attention and reaction time. It can reduce alertness and cognition and make you feel unmotivated and sluggish.
Add rising heat and tempers to the frustrations of driving, and it's a recipe for disaster.
"You never know what's going on with another driver," AAA spokesperson Morgan Dean told WRIC. "You don't know how far they're willing to go because they're angry. You don't know what kind of weapon they have with them. You do not want to be in that situation."
"You also have the heat that's going on," Dean added. "You're dealing with a car that may not be keeping you as cool as it otherwise would be. Even some of that stuff can feed into that aggression cycle that we don't want to see happen because those are the things that can start to spiral out of control."
According to a Trace analysis of data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, the number of people shot in road rage incidents surged more than 400% between 2014 and 2023 -- from 92 to 481. "All told, angry drivers shot 3,095 people over that decade, or nearly one every day. One in four of those people — 777 — were killed," the analysis noted.
Aggressive drivers can be found anywhere, but road rage encounters are more likely to occur in certain states than others. To determine which states have the most confrontational drivers, Forbes Advisor conducted a survey of 10,000 licensed drivers and compared all 50 states across nine key metrics.
Considering how hot it gets there, it should be no surprise that Arizona has been named the state with the highest number of confrontational drivers on the road. That's followed by Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Texas and Ohio rounding out the top 10. The states with the least confrontational drivers are Delaware, Idaho, South Dakota, Louisiana, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Washington, Iowa, Indiana and New Mexico.
The Forbes analysis found the top reasons cited for feeling road rage include heavy traffic (39.35%), already feeling stressed (38.06%), running late (33.89%), already feeling angry (32.49%), and Feeling tired (26.86%).
Drivers also reported experiencing road rage most frequently on city streets (29.18%), freeways or highways (26.59%), parking lots (14.9%), intersections (12.36%), and rural roads (6.99%), per Forbes.