I was very disturbed to read about a fatal accident involving a Yellow Medallion Taxi at the corner of 69th Street and First Avenue in the 9-18-12 edition of the NY POST.
If one is to believe the newspaper report, a pedestrian was crossing against the light, while the cabbie was beeping and speeding up to make it through a yellow light. Safety last.
Subsequent comments by the POST’s irregular selection of readers and embittered shut-ins covered the entire gamut of issues and non-issues, with several readers offering their nasty, clichéd assessment of smelly, indifferent, overly-aggressive third world types making the world a little bit uglier one cab ride at a time. Never you mind how many hard working, decent brothers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Africa and the Caribbean slug it out 12 hours a day, six-even-seven shifts a week, week-in and week-out, to scratch out a living.
However, like so many clichés and sources of prejudice, one must acknowledge at least some grain of truth in the equation.
From my experience as a driver, it has very little to do with whether or not you wear a turban, hail from South Asia, or call your deity Allah.
It has way more to with the industry’s predilection for encouraging a regular influx of INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS, who shortly join the legions of desperate men slugging out over the course of too many shifts where they are unable to come home with so much as a hundred dollars, let alone fifty. Such desperation causes the small-minded among us to do some very venal, petty things, such as ringing up toll charges where none are warranted, stealing a few bucks at a time. I am regularly used to making more money per fare in tips than these dimwits stole per ride, which is neither here nor there. Nevertheless, it occurs to me that many inexperienced drivers, in addition to a paucity of social skills, not only have no idea how to relate to customers, but drive too damn aggressively and haven’t a clue how to drive safely and effectively—and how this directly impacts one’s ability TO MAKE MONEY.
Which is the whole idea, yes?
In addition to snide comments about South Asian brothers, there was an interesting debate between commentators on the NY POST web site, much of which centered around who was at fault; who had the right of way—who was right and who was wrong.
Wrong? Right? Are you freaking kidding me—how about drivers accepting responsibility, because in my experience, more often than not, if there is an accident, the taxi driver could very well have prevented it.
I can already hear the outraged voices of cab drivers protesting about how bad bus drivers and truck drivers are; how reckless delivery men and recreational bicyclists are; how unconscious and unaware far too many pedestrians are, chatting away on their cell phones, lah-dee-dah, not looking both ways. True all true, however, how can I best put it in? Tough…this is our job, and as we often make up the majority of vehicles on the road, OUR REPONSIBILITY.
Never mind wrong or right? How about courteous, cautious driving. So you speed up to make the yellow light at 69th, but catch the red light at 70th. What exactly have you gained? One lousy block at best. At worst? Well, this incident is a perfect example of at worst, where irresponsible, pointless aggression behind the wheel leads to an innocent pedestrian’s critical injuries, as passers-by gather to lift the cab off of her smashed body, alas, too late.
Here’s where drivers, particularly the rookies, need to take a reality check. As a cab driver you ARE YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER, like it or not. Like it or not, you are responsible for the safety of your passengers, as well as sundry pedestrians and bicyclists. Even if the pedestrians are crossing against the light; even if the bicyclists are not observing all the traffic laws, the cab driver is nevertheless RESPONSIBLE. That’s part of the job description–looking out for your brothers and sisters, even when they are not looking out for themselves.
That accident at 69th street and First Avenue certainly got me thinking. Too many cabbies don’t understand their function and how to make money, and these dumb motherfuckers make the rest of look like schmucks.
First of all, why run a yellow light? Why, when you can stop safely, be a good defensive driver, and allow the meter to click another 0.50 for waiting time. Ding Dong—HELLO! It is not as though you are trying to run up the meter, though some passengers might interpret it that way, but they are in a distinct minority. Yes, you tally a little more money in waiting time, and additionally you do not discomfort passengers by bouncing them about in the back seat, nor do endanger pedestrians or bicyclists.
It’s called a sense of awareness. Is any experienced driver actually shocked when a bicyclist comes down the wrong way on a one-way street? Are you taken by surprise when pedestrians cross intersections against the light while gabbing away on their cellular devices? If so, then the driver is a MORON. All of this must be factored into how you protect your customers and your taxi cab itself from danger. True, sometimes you can’t do anything about the unconsciousness of others, such as when a car rear ends you at a corner where you are trying to get a credit card transaction approved with your hazard lights plainly blinking for all the world to see.
However, more often than not, the cab driver who REACTS gets into trouble. Whereas, the cab driver who reads the road, maintains awareness—and who ANTICIPATES—makes money and avoids potential tragedy.
Those cab drivers who are new to this “profession” need to train themselves to anticipate; they need to remain calm; they need to learn not challenge every other driver, cabbie, bicyclist and pedestrian. Let them go, take a deep breath, and remember, it is not the cabbie who drives the fastest, but the cabbie who MAKES TIME, who MAKES MONEY. Running lights is for suckers. Relax…relax as best you can, and do not react to each and every provocation, imagined or real.
Safety last? No, SAFETY FIRST.
Chip,
Well Said!
Unfortunately, your message will fall on deaf ears. The drivers you are trying to reach don’t get it and probably never will.
Perhaps, if you could single them out you could give them intensive retraining. But, there is no positive system of telling who they are.
Traffic violations? No, these summonses are given out to whom ever falls into the spider web of the police, Even the best drivers get them.
Passenger complaints? That may be a better way, but not conclusive.
In any case I couldn’t agree with you more!
Enough’s enough: we need a massive ad campaign warning the public about the dangers of jaywalking AND stepping off the curb/blocking traffic lanes before getting the walk signal. Far too many New Yorkers are oblivious to traffic conditions and the consequences of their illegal, irresponsible actions: the burden of public safety within the five boroughs does not lie solely with the operators of motor vehicles. Try driving in NYC and dealing with the routine stupidity of your average pedestrian/cyclist who has a cell phone at their ear and their head stuck up their ass before you get ready to tar and feather a cab driver who may not even at fault for this tragedy
Cross at the green not inbetween.
Frank, they tried “cross at the green not in between years ago” as Meter Peter points out. We all know about pedestrians and bikers, and the spider’s web of police revenue campaigns–all besides the point. As cab drivers we are on the street for stretches of 12 hours or more, and we SEE IT ALL, including all of the routine stupidity. I am not assigning BLAME to drivers, and your assertion that we are tar and feathering cabbies is some really weak Concord Gripe Whine, typical of cab drivers who spend most of their life complaining. I am urging cabbies to accept responsibility, because it is in our power to influence events positively 9-out-of-10 times. As I pointed out, “waiting time” is a guaranteed CASH INCENTIVE to slow down and smell the coffee, unless you are one of those drivers who likes to wave their dicks around. Vroom Vroom! Puh-leese. Suppose for the sake of argument that the pedestrian was “wrong.” Do you think the cab driver who crushed her on under his wheels at night is sleeping any better knowing he was in “the right”? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure–slow down, let the meter click off those $0.50 waiting time minutes, take a deep breath and be the individual who takes the high road. Blaming pedestrians in NY for being stupid is like blaming babies for crying.
Chip, cab drivers are just human. Same as pedestrians, cyclists, and all other individuals on the roads and sidewalks. None of us are infallible, un-feeling robots immune to normal human reactions. Which is why when somebody cuts us off suddenly and dangerously , we feel it and react. When jaywalkers force us to hit our brakes unnecessarily and dangerously, yeah, we feel it and react. Pedestrians deciding to step off the curb and obstruct an otherwise drive-able lane so they can get a half-second head-start on their fellow walkers when they get the “Walk” sign make our blood boil after awhile. When a throng of douches in Times Square decides to ignore the “Don’t Walk” signal en-masse because we had the misfortune to get stuck behind a double-parked car for all of 2 seconds, yeah, it wears on us. The biggest impediments to free-flowing traffic in Manhattan are the illegal actions of the non-driving public. Your “waiting time incentive” argument is FALSE because any hack that comprehends the English language and the passive-aggressive actions and comments of the “savvy” New-Yorker who has been “anointed” by paying on average $3,500 monthly for a 1-bedroom apartment and thus “will not be ripped off by these damn cabbies” will testify to the aggravation caused by tools that decide over-priced rents and overspending are not the cause of their financial woes: no, it’s the terrorist cabbies intentionally slowing down for yellow and red lights JUST to ring up the meter. Maybe you’re immune to it Chip, but personally nothing makes me feel lower as a human being than having to justify my driving habits to a public that has been made to feel that it is acceptable to assume the worst of me solely because of my choice of profession. As as far I’m concerned, every New Yorker should have to drive a cab and/or work in the food service industry at least once in their lifetime to truly develop a sense of empathy for their fellow man.
Non-drivers must be educated, repeatedly through the media, about the consequences of their illegal, irresponsible actions if we are to effect permanent change. There is NO virtue in embracing stupidity and enabling douche-baggery. I wish Bloomberg was 1/100th enthusiastic about this issue as he is about high-fructose syrup. Our city would be much better for it.
Good stuff Fred. The obvious sources of suffering notwithstanding (and if one harbors a profound sense of self-dignity, driving a yellow cab is likely the wrong career move), I never advocated slowing down in a dramatic fashion to ring up drachmas on the meter, but the premise is NOT FALSE. And as for $3500-a-month types complaining that my driving wasn’t aggressive enough, by and large feedback was precisely the opposite: people often complimented me on being a good driver. In my experience it is pretty rare for someone to say, “Make that light,” in which case I would DELIBERATELY slow down, and politely inform them that “This is not a video game.” If they wanted to stiff me on the tip, in some symbolic manner, so-fucking be it: “Have a nice day.” And the biggest impediment to making time is that the city has not followed through on creating specified cross streets where pedestrians can cross, such as they once tried near RADIO CITY on Sixth Avenue (they still have the metal fencing up). As for rage, a good rule of thumb is to not challenge anyone nor react. Sometimes it will get the best of you, but more often than not, it is self-indulgent and self-defeating to react, or should we say over-react. I feel your pain, but in terms of people judging us by the worst of us rather than the best? Don’t assume the worst of passengers any more than they should assume the worst of you. Might be surprised.
I wanted to comment earlier, due to time constraints couldn’t. Frank you said it better. The whole scam of driving purposely slow in order to get caught in a red light to gain an extra 50cents on the meter is simply cheap! Imagine a regular Taxi rider noticing it and going off at it and then having to argue, for a 50 cents. I cannot go thru such useless stress and rather be honorable and not try such cheap moves.
As a night driver, it would actually be a dumb move as fares are based on distance and try to drive at a safe speed and drop off the passenger and get a new one ASAP is the way to go. You get a head start of $3 or $3.50(depending on time).
My advice to drivers speeding up trying to make a light is simple. Always ask the question ur self if someone pops up in front of you are u driving at a speed where u can stop. If the answer is a pertinent No then slow down.
On a general note, I think health wise and financially(in a NYC sense), cab driving is NOT something for the long haul. It works well as something that helps you to get to the next level. Start u’r own business venture or to get a academic qualification. There are plenty of folks who’ve driven a cab and gone onto the next level. Driving for 20/30/40 yrs unfortunately point towards the opposite.
A more careful reading will reveal that I never suggested a “scam” to slow down to catch lights.
I suggested that it is more prudent to drive deliberately and cautiously, and not to run lights. And that waiting time represents incentive enough to leave time to come to a stop.
Yes, as a night driver, it is all about drops of the meter, drops of the meter–drop one off, pick one up–which also mitigates against “taking the long way” scam. Again, as I wrote in the original article, we make money by making time, by being efficient, not by racing.
I don’t play games with customers. I try and give them a safe, efficient ride, offer some conversation if they are so inclined, and not to drive like a madman on my way to the next fare.
Again, not racing to make lights is in one’s best interest both for waiting time and for the time affords to make adjustments should other cars, pedestrians, bikes do something reckless.
Be that as it may, coming from different perspective, we nevertheless appear to be on the same page.
Thanks for taking the time to write.
The blame falls on the TLC for allowing anyone to drive a taxi.
The blame falls on the city for enabling illegal actions by pedestrians and cyclists. Personally, I love the presence of the crowd control officers in the Rock Center and WTC areas. These are the only areas where traffic laws are enforced for ALL inhabitants, albeit only at certain times of the year. If it takes cops holding chains to corral people onto the sidewalks where they SHOULD remain until they get the walk signal, so be it. Hell, give those cops cattle prods and free rein to use them as they see fit. Act like a herd of stupid cattle, get treated as such.
The posts on this thread have been so disheartening. It is appalling how anti-hack us cab drivers are. We all labor under the same traffic conditions; combat the same prejudices expressed by the public daily; yet when a tragedy like this occurs so many of our own rank and file are ready to roast their own co-workers. “Foreign-born drivers stink and embarass us all; newbies are too anxious; blah-blah-f’ng blah”. The same prejudiced rhetoric OVER; AND OVER; and over. No strains of solidarity whatsoever. Hell, there are so many blue-collar professions in our city that aren’t one-tenth as critical to the daily functioning of NYC as our yellow cab industry is but their members have SO MUCH pride and unity… I don’t get it. LONG before immigrants “sullied” the lilly-white ranks of the proud and noble cab industry, NYC cab drivers have had a reputation for being smelly shysters. Hell, the whole system had to be changed from a commission-based pay scale where meter bookings were split evenly between the garage and driver to a lease-based one because TOO MANY drivers were working off the meter and the garage owners had to ensure their own survival. I’ve been driving for ten years now and have repeatedly witnessed old-school drivers express nostalgia for a cabby utopia which, as far as I can understand it, never actually existed. So why so much racist hostility in our ranks?
Your definition of “solidarity” troubles me. The cab industry has always been populated by immigrants, save that years ago they were Italians, East European Jews, Irish, Puerto Ricans, Arican-Americans; then came the Russians, the Caribbeans; then the South Asians.
You are raising a straw dog. Lily-White? Uh, huh. Again, SAFETY LAST was basically about professionalism.
You expect me to feel solidarity with amateurs? Who recklessly cut me off to steal a fare who hailed me? You expect me to feel solidarity with hacks who drive with their doors locked and their OFF DUTY signs on, who refuse to go to Brooklyn, who get into tiffs with passengers over their use of credit cards, who talk 24/7 on their cell phones with passengers in the back, who speed recklessly through red lights?
I cannot speak for some of the drivers you may have encountered, but race is not an issue with me, and nothing makes me testier than someone saying “You’re the first white driver I’ve ever had.”
“What ever gave you the impression I was white?”
Professionalism is the paramount issue with me, both as a veteran driver and as a taxi customer.
Professional cab drivers are not anti-hack or anti-immigrant.
They are anti-schmuck.
ROCK ON with your bad self Chip. Your diatribes are always good for a few chuckles. I love how “professionalism is the paramount issue” with you as relates to a job you earlier denigrate sarcastically as a “profession” in the last paragraph of your rant railing against….? What exactly? A pedestrian was injured; people made racist and prejudicial comments about cab drivers in the media; you don’t want to agree with those comments BUUUUUTTTTT feel a moral imperative to “acknowledge at least some grain of truth in the equation”……?
Your prejudiced barbs against your own co-workers, with whom you feel no solidarity, are too thinly-veiled. Probably because you think they’re too stupid to recognize them.
I’m not sure if I qualify as a “professional” cab driver. I’d like to maintain my “amateur” status so as to not compromise my eligibility for participation in the Cabbie Olympics, when God willing they finally occur.
One thing’s for sure: I too am firmly anti-schmuck.