ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Uber drivers are the unsung heroes of early flights, late nights out and everything in between. They drive on Christmas, they drive at odd hours of the day and they'll even sit in L.A. traffic for you while you play on your phone in the backseat.

But Southlanders, we have to start treating our Uber drivers better. According to a study by AutoInsuranceEZ.com and The Rideshare Guy, Uber drivers in Orange County and Los Angeles are the most miserable in the country. The company studied more than 220,000 posts on the complaint subforum of Uberpeople.net, a popular site where Uber drivers frankly share about their experiences. Between April 2014 and August 2019 when the data was collected, Los Angeles and Orange County combined had more than four times the amount of complaints as the runner up, Washington, D.C. The Southland had 47,684 total complaints, which "probably reflects local traffic conditions: L.A. is notoriously congested," the study said.

Top Areas For Driver Complaints: Los Angeles and Orange County: 47,684 complaints Washington, D.C.: 11,274 complaints San Francisco: 11,021 complaints New Jersey: 8,731 complaints Chicago: 8,228 complaints The most talked about neighborhoods with complaints were Santa Monica (3,667 complaints) and Hollywood (2,420), followed by Santa Barbara (345), Van Nuys (270), Sherman Oaks (229), Skid Row (202) and Venice (185). Other most talked about neighborhoods in Southern California included Los Feliz (117), Pacific Palisades (108), Bel Air (98), Highland Park (91), Eagle Rock (77), Canoga Park (58) and Laurel Canyon (53), according to the study.

The most common complaint keyword among all drivers, by far, was "passengers," so it may be time to check the snooty attitudes and drunk antics at the (car) door. Most Common Complaints Include These Phrases:

Passengers: 15,706 complaints Uber drivers: 6,440 complaints Cancellation fees: 1,926 complaints Service animals: 1,854 complaints Don't care: 1,704 complaints Although holidays can present drivers with opportunities to earn more thanks to surge pricing, it's also a reminder that drivers do not receive paid holiday leave, the study said. Christmas and Halloween were the top two worst holidays for drivers.

Unsurprisingly, the top time for driver complaints was midnight (with 331 total complaints), and the least were mid-afternoon, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. (ranging between 14 and 25 complaints per hour). More generally, more than 1,000 complaint posts included the phrase "at night," the study said.

To read more about the study, visit AutoInsuranceEZ.com. And the next time you hop into an Uber, remember to keep it civil. AutoInsuranceEZ.com Methodology: