We've all heard the admonitions about not texting while driving - the safety risks notwithstanding - but here's another reason not to: Your fellow motorists despise you.
Drivers who have their eyes buried in their phones - texting, e-mailing, accessing an app - are the most hated on the road, earning the scorn of more than 26 percent of those who responded to Expedia 2015 Road Rage Report which asked Americans about driving behaviors irritated them most.
It's the second year running that texting drivers took the title of being the biggest annoyance on the highway, inciting even more fury than drivers who tailgate, tool along in the left lane while not allowing faster traffic to pass, multitask (think eating or applying mascara) or weave in and out of traffic.
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, the roads will be filled with more than 33 million motorists, according to AAA, raising the odds that anybody making that cabin getaway will encounter one of these moving road blocks or somebody who will push one of our hot buttons.
And Americans loathe sharing the road with "bad drivers," even more than they do with bicyclists, buses, taxis, joggers and pedestrians combined. Ironically, an overwhelming majority of Americans (97 percent) feel they are "careful" drivers but say only 29 percent of other motorists merit that distinction.
About 25 percent of drivers admit to "regularly or occasionally" talking on the phone, but that's not all they are doing. One out of five download apps specifically to use while driving. Google maps is the most popular, a favorite of 35 percent of drivers while 12 percent rely on Apple maps. Surprisingly, about 33 percent still prefer paper maps or directions written out on paper. Drivers also use apps to check the weather, listen to music, find a restaurant or gas station or a hotel.
Not surprisingly, lots of other things upset us on the roads. The survey found that our pet peeves include those who speed, honk and race through red lights. When the blow up, 26 percent have shouted profanity at other drivers, 17 percent made rude gestures and 53 percent of drivers have been on the receiving end.
Of course, that' more likely to happen somewhere else, like New York City, cited as having the rudest drivers according to 42 percent of respondents. Thirty-two percent chose Los Angeles drivers, 18% felt the nation's rudest drivers could be found in Chicago, while 16 percent said the same of Washington, D.C.
There seems to be lots of hostility out there as 13 percent said they have felt physically threatened by another driver and 4 percent have gotten out of their vehicle to unleash their anger on another driver.
But there is also kindness out there, too. More than 40 percent said they have stopped to help another motorist who was in distress.
