The organizations also noted a statistic that anger may cause more than 100,000 crashes in the state each year.

A variety of qualities make New Jersey a more expensive insurance market, said Ms. Padilla. "It's the country's most densely populated state, and not only are drivers on the road more often, but when they're out there it's very aggressive."

She remarked that the New Jersey Legislature had recently passed a measure banning mobile phone use while driving and commented that "we have to remember that behind the wheel anger is another distraction--it's not just cell phone use."

"You can't legislate anger," she noted.

In the study, more than 200 New Jersey drivers were asked how they feel when they are behind the wheel and 57 percent of the drivers surveyed scored themselves with high-to-moderate levels of anger (21 percent high, 36.6 percent moderate).

The survey found that the driver high anger rate has worsened slightly over the past three years since a 2001 survey found that 20.4 percent of respondents scored themselves as having high levels of anger and 32.3 percent reported moderate levels of anger while on the road.

Less than half of the surveyed drivers reported tremendous impatience levels, scoring a combined high-to-moderate level of 40.7 percent (11.1 percent high, 29.6 percent moderate). The 2001 survey found that 39.5 percent of the drivers surveyed displayed tremendous impatience, scoring 8.8 percent high and 31 percent moderate.

AAA and ICNJ said one of the most troubling findings was the admission by drivers that they are likely to punish other drivers.

Some 44.8 percent scored themselves as highly punishing, 15.2 percent, to moderately punishing, 29.6 percent, when behind the wheel. In 2001, 39.5 percent scored themselves highly punishing (14.9 percent) to moderately punishing (24.6 percent) when behind the wheel.

The survey listed punishing behavior as: cursing other drivers, making obscene gestures, blocking cars attempting to pass, tailgating, braking quickly when being tailgated, putting on headlight high beams and seeking a personal confrontation.

Drivers, the survey found, do not perceive themselves as competing with other drivers when on the road. Some 80.7 percent scored low in the competing category. Only 7 percent scored high. Similar results were seen in 2001, when more than 78 percent scored low in the competing category and only 8.8 percent scored high.

Overall, approximately 39.5 percent scored with high-to-moderate levels of stress behind the wheel, with 9.9 percent scoring highly stressed. The 2001 survey found that overall, one-third, 33 percent, of drivers surveyed scored with high-to- moderate levels of stress, with 8.6 percent scoring highly stressed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about one-third of crashes and about two-thirds of the resulting fatalities can be attributed to aggressive driving. According to the New Jersey Department of Transportation, there were more than 320,000 automobile crashes in the Garden State in 2002 and 773 fatalities.

The Driver Stress Profile survey was developed by Dr. John A. Larson, a psychiatrist and author of "Steering Clear of Highway Madness: A Driver's Guide to Curbing Stress and Strain and Road Rage to Road-Wise."