Rage Against the Machines

For this week, at least, Dallas is number one--in road rage. Automotive anger Web site Monkeymeter.com calculates a weekly road rage top 10 from its 1,000 or so user ratings per day, and at the moment Dallas can glare down its nose at such gridlock legends as Houston and D.C...

By Robert Wilonsky

March 8, 2006

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For this week, at least, Dallas is number one--in road rage. Automotive anger Web site Monkeymeter.com calculates a weekly road rage top 10 from its 1,000 or so user ratings per day, and at the moment Dallas can glare down its nose at such gridlock legends as Houston and D.C.

The strong weekly showing is a rare bright spot in Big D's dismal record in statistical competition of late. We could manage just sixth on the National Coalition for the Homeless' 2005 "Meanest Cities" list and a paltry fifth on Morgan Quitno's list of America's most dangerous cities for 2005.

Monkeymeter founder Bruce Campbell is impressed with Dallas' road-rage effort. "It kind of climbed up real quickly this year," he says. "I didn't expect to see it in the number one spot when I did the update." His surprise is understandable considering Dallas' typically tepid 11th ranking for all of 2005.

Apparently, completion of the High Five just pissed people right off. Meanwhle, Fort Worth is mixing Prozac into its gasoline, coming in 89th in 2005, just mellower than the sleepy college town Champaign, Ill. —Rick Kennedy

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