Two popular car brands deliver the worst road rage | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

If you have ever been behind the wheel for long enough, you have probably witnessed, experienced, or felt the sudden and consuming feelings known as road rage.

It’s fairly easy to fall into it. The average car in the United States is a one to two-ton metal-bound death machine that can not only pose a danger to other drivers but also make drivers feel protected in their little cocoons out on the road.

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Car design and the basic rules and principles of driving also make drivers feel fairly anonymous. The fact that drivers have to face forward to see what is in front of them gives drivers all the incentive to cut off other drivers, honk their horns, honk for longer durations of time, or give other drivers the finger or other offensive gestures.

But while 2019 data from the American Automobile Association shows that as many as 8 in 10 American drivers had engaged in such aggressive driving behaviors against other road users, new data has emerged that drivers in some car brands may be bigger targets for road rage than others.

According to a new study by Lance Surety Bonds, 56% of drivers believe that certain car marques can provoke road rage, with 44% of drivers associate BMW with said feelings and 33% naming Tesla as a road rage trigger.

BMW, Tesla drivers beware

According to a recent study conducted by Lance Surety Bonds, there is much more to road rage than simple hatred towards other drivers.

The study, which surveyed and gathered data from 1,000 drivers, found a link between drivers of certain car brands, their tendencies toward road rage, and the likelihood of being targeted in road rage.

Most owners of very popular car brands, including Toyota (TM) , Honda (HMC) , and Hyundai (HYMTF) , admitted to experiencing road rage. According to the study, 92% of Volkswagen drivers, 91% of Toyota and Hyundai Drivers, and 90% of Tesla and Honda drivers admit to having road rage.

However, more interestingly, the Lance study found that 56% of the drivers surveyed said that cars made by certain car brands provoked their road rage, with some upmarket manufacturers sticking out like sore thumbs.

German automaker BMW leads the pack, as 44% of drivers surveyed said that drivers behind the Ultimate Driving Machine triggered their frustrations. Second is Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) , with 33% of drivers surveyed associating the multi-faceted man’s EVs with provoking road rage, while luxury car leader Mercedes-Benz falls in third at 33%.

The study also found that there is a divide between gas and electric car drivers. According to their data, 22% of EV drivers say they’ve been road rage targets for driving an EV.

Insurance data shows Tesla drivers are incident-prone

The 33% of drivers who find Teslas to be the source of their road rage are not entirely blinded by the brand alone, as data gathered by LendingTree found that Tesla drivers are some of the most ‘incident-prone’ drivers out on the road.

According to insurance quote data from QuoteWizard by LendingTree, between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024, Tesla drivers had the highest ‘incident’ rate, which they define as being in “accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations.”

Drivers in Model S’s, Model 3’s, Model X’s, Model Y’s, and Cybertrucks had 36.94 incidents per 1,000 drivers. Stellantis (STLA) nameplate Ram was in a close second, with 33.92 incidents per 1,000 drivers, and Japanese all-wheel-drive specialist Subaru was in third, with 32.85 incidents per 1,000 drivers.

LendingTree also found that the top three brands were also the most accident-prone, with Tesla, Ram, and Subaru drivers recording 26.67, 23.15, and 22.89 respective accidents per 1,000 drivers in the same period in 2024.

Additionally, their data also shows that BMW and Tesla drivers are very prone to having DUI (Driving under the influence) incidents. While Pontiac drivers had the highest DUI rate at 3.11 per 1,000 drivers, BMW and Tesla trailed behind with 2.57 and 2.23 respective DUIs per 1,000 drivers.

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Younger drivers are the most cool-headed

However, while the Lance study found that cars themselves could be a factor in road rage, their data shows an interesting trend regarding drivers and their feelings.

They found that 65% of drivers keep their feelings to themselves, while 35% would honk or yell behind the wheel. However, drivers’ abilities to manage their feelings behind the wheel widely vary by age.

Gen Z were the most capable of keeping their frustrations to themselves, with 79% keeping it in and 21% letting it out.

In contrast, older generations were less likely to keep it cool and more likely to act out. Only about 65% of Millenials surveyed, 60% of baby boomers, and 57% of of Gen Xers said they were able to bottle it in behind the wheel.