Some driving styles are probably easy to predict. Professionals working in high-pressure fields may struggle to keep their serenity behind the wheel. And any workers who consistently get to see the aftermath of aggressive driving — such as traffic police, EMTs, and medical staff — may be extra cautious on the road.
But there appears to also be a correlation between certain occupations and rude driving behavior. Our data classifies rude driving as a high incidence of traffic violations such as failure to yield, failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, and hit-and-runs. (You know — driving like a jerk.)
To identify the occupations with the rudest drivers in 2022, the data science team at Insurify turned to their database of more than 4.6 million car insurance applications. Here’s what we discovered:
Insights
Nationally, 1.44% of drivers can be considered rude.Â
The majority of the jobs on this list are physically demanding, and the rest are stressful or high pressure, suggesting that exhaustion and stress may lead to rude driving behavior.
Time pressure may also be a factor in rude driving. Sales reps, plumbers, carpet installers, floor layers, taxi drivers, and journalists all may face ticking clocks in their professional lives, which might increase their stress and the likelihood of rude driving behavior — such as failure to yield and failure to stop.
The most polite drivers are homemakers and retirees, which bolsters the assumption that time pressure may lead to rude driving. Neither of these occupations is as likely to face deadlines or time pressure as the top 10 occupations with the rudest drivers.
Failure to stop at a stop sign was the most common violation among the top 10 professions.
10 occupations with the rudest drivers
Wondering if people in your profession are associated with boorish driving behavior? These 10 occupations have the highest statistical rate of rude driving:
10. Sales representative
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.31%
Number of people employed: 1,597,600
Average salary: $62,890
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to yield to other drivers
Nearly 1.6 million sales representatives work in the United States, making this profession the most popular job among the top 10 occupations with the rudest drivers. Sales reps accrue rude driving citations at a rate nearly three times the national average. Sales reps are the only workers on our list that most commonly fail to yield to other drivers.
9. Laborer
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.34%
Number of people employed: 1,572,200
Average salary: $37,520
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a stop sign
Working as a construction laborer is a tough job. Not only is the work physically demanding, but laborers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of any profession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s likely that many laborers are exhausted when they get behind the wheel, which helps explain why their rate of rude driving behavior is more than three times higher than the national average. Their most common rude driving behavior is the failure to stop at a stop sign.
8. Bricklayer/mason
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.39%
Number of people employed: 267,400
Average salary: $48,040
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a stop sign
Like laborers, bricklayers and masons have physically demanding jobs that require a great deal of heavy lifting, standing, kneeling, and bending. Tired driving likely contributes to this profession’s rate of rude driving behavior, which is 3.05 times the national average rate. Bricklayers are most likely to neglect to stop at a stop sign, similar to laborers.Â
7. Plumber
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.41%
Number of people employed: 469,000
Average salary: $59,880
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a red light
Anyone who has ever had a plumbing emergency knows just how vital plumbers are to maintaining a clean, safe, and working home. Driving is part of the job, and evening, weekend, and holiday work is common, since plumbers must be available to fix problems as they occur. The urgency of work calls could explain why plumbers engage in rude driving behavior. Rude driving rates among plumbers are about 3.06 times the national average, with failure to stop at a red light being the most common violation in this profession.Â
6. Furniture finisher
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.55%
Number of people employed: 238,000
Average salary: $36,710
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a stop sign
Furniture finishers work to shape, finish, and refinish damaged furniture. This is highly skilled work that brings finishers into contact with heavy tools and chemicals. Such work can be physically demanding, which may make finishers prone to tired driving. The rate of rude behavior among furniture finishers is 3.16 times the national average, and the most common rude behavior is also a failure to stop at a stop sign.
5. Actor
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.88%
Number of people employed: 50,600
Average salary: $23.48/hourÂ
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a red light
Acting is a tough profession to break into — think endless auditions on top of side jobs to make ends meet. And when actors do land a gig, it can include long and irregular hours. The amount of stress and uncertainty that comes with being a working actor may contribute to this profession’s rate of rude driving behavior, which is 3.39 times the national average.
4. Carpet installer
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 4.92%
Number of people employed: 26,010
Average salary: $45,320
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a stop sign
Carpet installers drive from job to job to lay and install carpet and padding. The work requires heavy lifting, as well as kneeling and bending. Since most installers are employees of contractors and retailers, they’ll generally be on a strict schedule mandated by their employer. This may explain why their rude behavior is 3.42 times the national average and why their most common rude driving behavior is the failure to stop at a stop sign.
3. Floor layer/finisher
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 5.13%
Number of people employed: 115,100
Average salary: $47,310
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a red light
Like carpet installers, floor layers and finishers also spend the majority of each work day reaching, bending, and kneeling, which will likely leave these workers sore and exhausted by the time they’re ready to drive home. Floor layers also tend to work for contractors and retailers and generally have employer-imposed schedules they must meet. The rate of rude driving behavior among floor layers is nearly 3.6 times the national average.
2. Taxi/limo driver
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 5.41%
Number of people employed: 832,600
Average salary: $37,540
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a stop sign
Since they spend their working day behind the wheel, taxi and limo drivers simply have more opportunities to engage in rude behavior than someone who doesn’t have to drive for their job. Additionally, taxi drivers have financial incentives to get passengers to their destination as quickly as possible. It’s no wonder taxi and limo drivers are second on our list, exhibiting rude driving behavior at nearly 3.8 times the national average.Â
1. Journalist/reporter
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 5.94%
Number of people employed: 47,100
Average salary: $48,370
Most common rude driving behavior: Failure to stop at a red light
Journalism is a high-pressure occupation with frequent travel and tight deadlines. Add in shrinking budgets and shuttered newspapers and many contemporary journalists have to handle a high workload that previously would’ve been assigned to several people. That level of stress, coupled with the frequent driving the profession requires, likely contributes to journalism’s top spot on our list. Journalists engage in rude driving behavior at a whopping 4.1 times the national average.
Check Out: 10 States with the Best Drivers in 2022
Methodology
Data scientists at Insurify, an auto insurance comparison site, referred to their database of more than 4.6 million car insurance applications to identify the occupations with the rudest drivers.
When applying for car insurance, applicants disclose their current occupation and any past violations on their driving record. Insurify determined the following violations as most indicative of rude driving: failure to yield violations (failure to yield the right of way, failure to yield to a pedestrian), failure to stop violations (failure to stop for a red light, school bus, or stop sign), improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, and hit-and-runs.
Analysts compared the number of drivers with each occupation with one of these violations on record against the total number of drivers with that occupation. The professions with the highest share of drivers with these penalties were determined as the occupations with the rudest drivers.
Data on employment and wages come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s latest employment estimates.
Conclusion
Considering the level of physical or mental stress each occupation on this list experiences, it’s understandable that many of these professionals may forget their driving manners after a rough day.Â
While many drivers are susceptible to letting the frustration and exhaustion of a tough work day affect their on-road behavior, rude driving can easily translate into dangerous driving that harms others on the road. That’s why it’s important to be aware of stress and fatigue levels before getting behind the wheel.
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