(December 14, 2021) Drivers in 2021 are facing the highest holiday gas prices in seven years, and it’s no wonder the added stress of paying for gas on top of holiday travel gets transferred to the road. With the national average price of gas now around $3.34 a gallon, over $1 more than last year, consumers’ driving habits in some cities are over 30% more aggressive during the holidays compared to the rest of the year according to GasBuddy
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GasBuddy examined over 2.6 million Drives from its opt-in app feature, powered by Arity, during this year’s Thanksgiving holiday defined as Nov 23 - Nov 26. The study looked at which cities had the highest frequency of aggressive driving habits like rapid acceleration, hard braking and speeding.

The Top 10 Cities With the Most Aggressive Holiday Drivers in 2021

    1    Tucson, AZ
    2    Jacksonville, FL
    3    Oklahoma City, OK
    4    Richmond, VA
    5    Orlando, FL
    6    Salt Lake City, UT
    7    Raleigh, NC
    8    Nashville, TN
    9    Detroit, MI
   10   St. Louis, MO

Complete city rankings can be found here. The most frequent aggressive driving habits during the holidays are hard-braking (1), speeding (2) and rapid acceleration (3).



“With the holiday season upon us and with the highest gas prices seasonally in over a half decade, we’re seeing a lot of frustration on the road as traffic soars as the nation recovers from Covid, and stresses are manifesting in aggressive behavior behind the wheel,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Aggressive driving isn’t just unsafe, it costs Americans billions of dollars per year. Practicing better habits on the road and paying attention to fuel efficiency can improve drivers’ gas mileage up to 25%, driving down their fuel expenses.”

“Our ability to identify costly driving behaviors in real-time, coupled with GasBuddy’s tips on where to pay less for gas — we’re helping millions save money just in time for the holiday season,” said Chuck Fuller, director of Product at Arity. “Through our partnership with GasBuddy to deliver Drives, users can learn how to drive more efficiently to make their tank last even longer.”

GasBuddy recommends drivers stay calm on the road to stay safe and save money on their fuel costs. Motorists can opt-in to GasBuddy’s Drives feature in the GasBuddy app to evaluate how “aggressive” and fuel-wasteful they are on the road. The feature gives drivers a fuel efficiency grade of POOR, GOOD or GREAT based on how often aggressive driving/fuel-wasting habits are committed, allowing drivers to better understand their driving habits and make necessary adjustments.

Methodology: The findings were compiled using data from GasBuddy’s optional, opt-in Drives Feature in the GasBuddy app that offers drivers an assessment of their driving habits during their trip in an effort to improve fuel efficiency, mapping out where a poor driving habit occurred. GasBuddy examined 2,613,857 Drives in the top 50 metropolitan areas by population as defined by the United States Census Bureau from Nov. 23-26, 2021, noting all events of fast acceleration, hard braking and speeding.