Newport Among Top 10 Most Stressful RI Towns To Drive In: HiRoad Study

NEWPORT, RI — Rhode Island is the second-worst state in the U.S. to drive in, according to WalletHub. But what cities and towns are particularly stressful for Ocean Staters, when they take the wheel?

To find out, HiRoad conducted a study. The auto insurance company collected 1.3 million driving-related tweets posted and analyzed them using an academic tool called TensiStrength.

TensiStrength is an AI tool developed by Professor Mike Thelwall at the University of Wolverhampton. It detects stress levels in short pieces of text and assigns them a stress level score from -5 (very stressed) to +5 (very relaxed). For the study, HiRoad considered any tweet that scored between -2 (stressed) and -5 (very stressed) as "stressed."

According to HiRoad, Cranston was Rhode Island's most stressful city to drive in, with 49.8 percent of tweets related to driving in the area being deemed "stressed." Newport also made the list, coming in at No. 10, with 37.5 percent of tweets being deemed "stressed."

The study also found that the worst pet peeve for Rhode Island drivers is cyclists, followed by traffic, potholes, red light runners, parking, swerving, speeding and tailgating. The most stressful day to drive in the Ocean State is Thursday.

Traffic tended to be the most annoying pet peeve for drivers nationwide, according to HiRoad Vice President Steve Harris.

"Stressing triggers vary from driver to driver,"Harris said in a statement. "Traffic was found to be the most annoying pet peeve in the majority of states, and overall, we discovered that bad weather makes drivers the most stressed. And that stressor can lead to accidents, according to the Federal Highway Administration, one in five road crashes every year are due to weather conditions."

See the top 10 most stressful Rhode Island cites to drive in.

1. Cranston — 49.8 percent of tweets
2. East Providence — 49.4 percent
3. Warwick — 43.3 percent
4. Central Falls — 43.2 percent
5. Providence — 42.9 percent
6. Woonsocket — 41.9 percent
7. Pawtucket — 41.7 percent
8. Valley Falls — 41.1 percent
9. Westerly — 38.3 percent
10. Newport — 37.5 percent

HiRoad provided some tips for motorists to make driving a bit less stressful.

Avoid peak traffic and give yourself extra time

Nobody likes sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. When the clock’s ticking, and you’ve got somewhere to be, driving at rush hour can be a very stressful experience. If you’re planning a trip, avoid peak hours if you can and schedule in extra time to account for any unexpected traffic. If you know ahead of time when there may be congestion on the road, look up alternative routes and plan extra time accordingly.

Play some relaxing music

An easy way to make your car environment as zen as possible is to play some relaxing or upbeat music. One study found that playing music while driving can reduce stress and its effect on the heart. Prepare a playlist that’s guaranteed to chill you out ahead of time, and you’ll find driving a stress-free breeze.

Switch your phone to do not disturb

Driving requires 100 percent of your attention, which is why it can be stressful if your phone starts ringing and buzzing on the passenger seat, and you’re unable to answer it. Unless you’re using your phone’s GPS system, switch your phone off or do not disturb mode. Driving distracted can be extremely dangerous and depending on the law where you live, being caught using your phone at all while driving can lead to heavy penalties too.

Don’t drive angry

According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, driving while angry increases your crash risk by nearly 10 times. Aggressive driving (or road rage) is one of the leading causes of serious accidents on the road. You can prevent this by not driving at all if you’re angry or upset. Take a walk instead to center yourself and calm down.

If you find yourself getting angry while driving, take some deep breaths and allow your muscles to relax rather than tensing up. Pull over and take some time to calm down with some relaxing music if your emotions are running too high to drive safely.

Take care of yourself off the road

You can’t drive safely if you’re exhausted, which is why it’s really important that you get a good night’s sleep before hitting the road. A lack of sleep can make you more irritable too, which will only add to any stress you encounter on the road.

An unhealthy diet and not drinking enough water can also cause fatigue and make concentrating difficult behind the wheel, so looking after your overall health is a great way of reducing the likelihood of you making errors while driving.

The full study and methodology and can be found at HiRoad's website.