Texting while driving rated the most annoying habit by drivers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — According to a new report, texting while driving is the behavior most likely to elicit road rage from other motorists.

The travel site Expedia has released their 2014 Road Rage Report and found 69 percent of drivers surveyed rated those who text behind the wheel as the worst of the worst for rudeness -- or being an outright threat -- in traffic.

Next on the list was tailgating at 60 percent, multitaskers who take on several activities at once besides driving at 54 percent, lane drifters at 43 percent and slow drivers at 39 percent.

Of those surveyed, 69 percent admit that they have been flipped off by another driver, but only 17 percent say they have given the obscene gesture to other motorists.

The survey questioned 1,001 drivers and Expedia says it has an error rate of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

"As the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day sees a huge spike in the number of drivers on the road," said John Morrey, Expedia.com's general manager. "The rule, as with airplanes and hotels, is that shared spaces demand decorum and attentiveness."

Here are some more behaviors that get drivers' blood pressure rising:

• The Swerver (failing to signal before changing lanes or turning): 38 percent
• The Left-Lane Hog (drivers who occupy the passing lane without moving): 32 percent
• The Inconsiderate (those who do not let others merge): 30 percent
• The Speeder (driving well past the speed limit at length): 27 percent
• The Honker (drivers who slam the horn at will): 18 percent
• The Unappreciative (drivers who do not give a wave or gesture of thanks): 13 percent
• The Red Light Racer (drivers who inch ever closer to the light when red): 12 percent

WSOC