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Road rage? Not here

Just a little while back we wrote about the perils of driving on Interstate 75 just south of Detroit.

We concluded that the reason Michigan had such high auto insurance rates was because 18-wheelers on its roads were so aggressive they were causing drivers to speed and/or panic. The editorial ended by saying we were so happy to be back on Maui where speeds are slower and drivers are more laid back.

Imagine our surprise, then, to receive a press release this week from insurance Quotes.com that stated Hawaii has the angriest drivers in the nation.

Now, we’re not sure about the data — or its analysis — but the study was based on Instagram posts from 2013 to 2016 using the hashtag #RoadRage. The results of the angriest driver posts:

1. Hawaii, with 5,872 posts per 100,000 drivers.

2. California, 3,506 posts.

3. New York, 2,200 posts.

4. New Jersey, 2,129 posts.

5. Nevada, 2,004 posts.

Hmm. We find it hard to believe that motorists in Hawaii are angrier than those in New York, especially New York City. And, while Oahu’s traffic on H-1 is a mess, it doesn’t affect nearly as many people as the jammed freeways around Los Angeles.

Plus, we’re not really sure how Instagram works — how would one know to use the hashtag #RoadRage to report an incident?

But certain parts of the study do make sense. The most likely time for road rage to occur is 6 p.m. on Fridays — presumably because folks are frustrated, stuck in traffic, trying to get home for the weekend. The least likely time is, not surprisingly, Sundays.

In any event, we don’t see (or hear) the anger here we’ve witnessed on highways on the Mainland. We suspect that, in Hawaii, most of the rage is confined to the dense urban area on Oahu.

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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