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Fuhgeddaboutit. New Jersey drivers barely made the Top 10, and California’s not even on the list. New Yorkers made the cut, but when it comes to America’s rudest drivers, they aren’t the benchmark.

When it comes to making obscene gestures, tailgating, cutting people off and other rude behaviors, the motorists who top the list are from…Idaho.

Where? Yep, rural Idaho, where you can go for miles and not even see another driver. But a new survey by Insure.com found folks from the Potato State have earned a bad reputation when they get behind the wheel.

“Casting aspersions toward other drivers is a long-standing tradition,” said Amy Danise, editorial director for Insure.com. “We wanted to know not only where the rude drivers come from, but also who thinks they’re rude.”

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It seems that Californians have a bad impression of drivers from just about everywhere else – but especially those from neighboring states, such as Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. They don’t like motorists from New York or Vermont, either. In fact, Insure.com labeled Californians “the biggest haters.”

Texans also think out-of-state drivers are rude, especially those from California, New Mexico, and Louisiana, among others.

The fact that Idaho tops the list might seem odd, considering it’s got a reputation as a generally laid-back place, with not a lot of traffic and not much to get worked up about when you’re behind the wheel. One would expect motorists in states with large urban populations to get rude in a hurry, flashing the bird or screaming obscene remarks at every imagined transgression.

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And, indeed, the list finds a few populous places among the top 10 rudest states: Washington, D.C. second on the list, just ahead of New York. Massachusetts, known for aggressive driving, especially in Boston, comes in fifth, and New Jersey is ranked eighth.

But how to explain tenth-ranked Utah, where much of the population doesn’t even drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages, and which has a truly genial reputation? Wyoming and Nevada are also on the list of rudest states.

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As to what gets people mad enough to make rude gestures or remarks? The 2,000 licensed drivers who participated in the online poll pointed to:

  • Talking on a cellphone while driving – 47%
  • Tailgating – 37%
  • Not signaling turns – 35%
  • Weaving in and out of lanes – 28%
  • Driving too fast, like every road is a highway – 26%.

The survey attempted to balance the votes out to reflect the population of the various states, incidentally.

So, with that in mind, here’s the list of the 10 Rudest Drivers, By State:

1. Idaho

2. Washington, D.C.

3. New York

4. Wyoming

5. Massachusetts

6.Delaware (tie)

7. Vermont (tie)

8. New Jersey

9. Nevada

10. Utah

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