Road rage survey finds Houston drivers least courteous in the nation

Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close Road rage survey finds Houston drivers least courteous in the nation 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

Houston's drivers have been ranked the least courteous in the whole country, according to a recent road rage survey, and they have rapidly declined in the last five years.

AutoVantage commissioned an independent research company to question rush-hour commuters in 25 of America's major metros.

The survey asked selected commuters about driver behaviors such as speeding, running red lights, tail gating, cutting in, talking on cell phones and making obscene gestures.

In the five years since the survery was last completed, Houston has dropped from an already bad showing of eighth-most rude drivers and raced to the top spot, beating out famously rude New York, the previous most-angry driving city.

It appears Houstonians need to take some lessons from Texan neighbor San Antonio, which managed to come in with some of the most courteous drivers, the 12th most-courteous in the nation to be exact.

The most courteous drivers are apparently to be found in Portland, Oregon.

So what has happened on our highways in the last five years? Is it our legendary pot holes, some of the worst in the country? Could it be the huge influx of people?

The Houston region topped the nation for population growth, according to 2012-2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimates released in March. The latest data showed an extra 138,000 people in the Houston metro area, most of them joining Harris County.