Ever had a driver flip you the middle finger or honk their horn in anger on the road? If so, you’re not alone.

A new study from an international insurance agency suggests 33 per cent of Canadians are the victims of road rage at least once a month.

State Farm says road rage isn’t always a physical altercation: it can be anything from a dirty look or swearing to laying your hand on the horn – and leaving it there for a good 15 seconds.

However the 2015 Driving Survey, in which Canadians rate their driving strengths and weaknesses, suggests most people behind the wheel keep their cool when dealing with “annoying” drivers.

Forty-six-per-cent of drivers surveyed said they wouldn’t respond in anger to people’s bad driving behaviour. That’s compared to 20 per cent who said they’d honk their horn. Around 11 per cent said they’d use inappropriate language in response, and nine per cent said they’d give a dirty look.

Less than five per cent of respondents said they’d offer up a crude hand gesture.

When it comes to driving behaviours that grind people’s gears, survey respondents said tailgating was the most annoying (30 per cent), followed by distracted driving (22 per cent), cutting people off (22 per cent), taking up two parking spots (11 per cent) and people driving with pets on their laps (seven per cent).

Mark Milner of ICBC said the new survey backs up what the provincial insurer already knows: that other people’s bad behaviour leads to road rage.

Milner said it’s rarely just a single incident that causes someone to react in anger, but rather a series of events that causes a buildup of stress.

“Somebody doesn’t signal a lane change, somebody cuts you off. Someone misses a light. And all of this builds up until it boils over. The [drivers] snap.”

While most people don’t fly off the handle or cut someone else off purposefully, Milner said honking angrily, shouting and “basically losing control of their emotions while they’re behind the wheel” are all common reactions.

He says from time to time all drivers get annoyed or angry behind the wheel, but the most important thing is how we react to those angering incidents.

“It’s staying calm and being in the moment,” he said.