During the wee hours of Black Friday, users had already begunflooding social media sites with videos and commentary detailingscuffles and all-out brawls over discounted merchandise and anumber of otherwise predictable social infractions. Didyou just cut in line?!

Trending on Twitter was the hashtag #WalmartFights, whichwe'll let speak for itself. With tensions high and tempers flaringthis holiday season, it should come as no surprise that drivers areexhibiting increasingly aggressive (and potentially dangerous)maneuevers that would definitely land them on Santa's NaughtyList.

Will you be ”naughty or nice” behind the wheel this holidayseason? Some research could have drivers scrambling for, ahem,creative justifications. When State Farm and KRC Researchconducted an online survey of 1,000 U.S drivers over 18 years old,they found there is plenty of room for improvement in drivingbehaviors. According to the survey, nearly two out of three(64 percent) U.S. drivers have experienced an “act of aggressivedriving” six times or more in the past three months from anotherdriver.

With a large number of drivers affected by aggressive drivingalready, the survey revealed nearly a third of drivers admitthe likelihood of them engaging in aggressive drivingincreases during the winter holidays.

I'm tempted to say “duh.” Anyone who has braved thelocal mall recently shouldn't be all that surprised bythis statistic. What is troubling more than poordriving etiquette, though, is that erratic road manueversinduced by a “short fuse” or #TWD can kill. Considerableattention is given to the usual bad driving habits and deservedlyso, but what about a nation of anxious, time-pressed road warriors?Judging from some key findings of that survey, we can't blame itall on the kids this time, either. Consider, for instance,that:

• Forty-four percent of drivers participating inthe survey said they have engaged in aggressive drivingbehaviors in the past three months.
• Thirty-two percent of younger drivers (ages 18-29), 28percent of middle aged drivers (ages 30-49) and parents (30percent) were significantly more likely to report being provoked orengage in aggressive driving around the major winter holidayscompared to only 9 percent of older drivers (ages 50 and older) andnon-parents (15 percent).
• About half of survey respondents perceive men and women to beequally courteous when driving. When it comes to aggressivedriving, however, the majority (54 percent) of drivers citemen as the most likely culprits of aggressivedriving, compared to only one in 10 who said that women are morelikely. The remaining 37 percent of drivers reported men and womento be equally likely to engage in aggressive driving.
• Top situations most likely to make drivers respond aggressivelywere traffic jams (63 percent), running late (55 percent) and roadclosures or construction (47 percent).

“These findings reinforce how important it is to keep safety topof mind when driving every day, but especially during heavy traveltimes like the winter holidays,” says Chris Mullen, director oftechnology research at State Farm. “Both negative and positiveemotions can affect the way drivers behave and it's vital to beaware of your state of mind and continually refocus your attentionon the road and practicing safe driving behaviors.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), “naughty” driving encompasses speeding or driving toofast for conditions, improper lane changing or passing, andtailgating. Whether drivers are guilty of aggressive driving orhave been on the receiving end of it, State Farm encourages driversto be ”nice” during the holiday season, though. We can dothis, the insurer says, by taking control whenever possible:

• Control your behavior on the road. Runningtraffic signals is one of the most common causes of a car crash inmetropolitan areas (U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration) andspeeding or driving too fast for conditions accounts for aboutone-third of all fatal car crashes in America (Governors Highway Safety Association).
• Control your emotions. Recognize it'snot personal and it's not a race. It's important to get out of theway of an aggressive driver but also to give drivers the benefit ofthe doubt.
• Understand driving conditions beforesetting out. Plan extra time to get to yourdestination to account for weather conditions, heavy traffic orparking lot congestion. If available, use public transportationwhen expecting inclement weather or heavy traffic times.

Sure, some of those are much easier said than done. But we dohave a choice, as well as a real responsibility, to do betterand promote safe driving behaviors. So what about cyclists? Nowdon't even get me started on that.