Maine Ranks 5th in the US for Least Confrontational Drivers

Accorrding to The Trace, which analyzed data from the Gun Violence Archive, the number of road rage incidents in the US have gone through the roof, with violent confrontations turning our highways into war zones. From 2014 to 2023, road rage shootings skyrocketed by more than 400%—going from 92 to a jaw-dropping 481, according to The Trace,

So, what’s a driver to do? Move to Maine, apparently. According to a recent Forbes Advisor survey, Maine ranks as the fifth least confrontational state when it comes to driving. Apparently here in Vacationland, our roadways are more about scenic drives and less about dodging bullets.

Forbes Advisor got this information by polling 10,000 drivers nationwide, asking them about their on-the-road experiences. They dug into metrics like being forced off the road, blocked from merging, getting cut off, tailgated, and receiving threats or insults. The results? Maine drivers scored 6.5% for being forced off the road, 20.5% for blocked merges, 28.5% for intentional cut-offs, 58.0% for tailgating (I feel like we have all been tailgated a time or two), and 22.5% for good ol’ road rage verbal abuse.

Yes, 22.5% of Mainers have been verbally abused behind the wheel, but that's actually pretty low compared to the rest of the country. And let’s face it, a few choice words are way better than being shot at.

So, if you’re tired of feeling like you're driving through an action movie, chances are you will feel different as we're pretty chill up here in Maine. Here, our biggest road hazards appear to be moose and the occasional pothole.