# I pit taxi drivers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711 "2006-11-16T17:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/1 "2006-11-16T17:40:10Z")
WTF? I’m supposed to pay you money so you can drive like a drunken muke through busy streets? So you can make me sick to my stomach after two minutes? So I’ll still be sick TWO HOURS later, and miss an important lecture? Just because you cant be bothereded to drive propperly? Asshole! You and all your idiot taxi-driver buddies should be deported, prefferably to a small yurt in Siberia. I vote for making taxi-driving by fucktards who can’t drive propperly a capital offense. And since this is my first pitting, fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/2 "2006-11-16T18:27:29Z")
Ahh, I see the taxi driver who took me and Mr. Neville to the airport in Stockholm has moved to Oslo. That taxi driver drove at about 160 km/h on a road where the speed limit was 100, and drove _way_ too close for comfort to the car in front of him. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/3 "2006-11-16T19:09:09Z")
What’s a muke? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/4 "2006-11-16T19:15:15Z")
What’s a yurt?? Why can’t I get _Johnny Dangerously_ out of my head? ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/5 "2006-11-16T19:35:39Z")
You actually were physically sick for over two hours and had to “miss an important lecture” because of a ride in an automobile? :dubious: You gotta suck it up, ponce. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/6 "2006-11-16T19:40:01Z")
Next time, just fucking walk. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/7 "2006-11-16T19:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] You actually were physically sick for over two hours and had to “miss an important lecture” because of a ride in an automobile? :dubious: You gotta suck it up, ponce. [/QUOTE] Motion sickness is no fun for those of us who have it. It’s not something we can control, either. Fortunately, my motion sickness tends to go away pretty soon after the motion stops, but that’s not the case for everyone. I don’t think most people appreciate it when someone comes to a lecture and vomits during it. I think the OP should go to the lecture next time with a plastic baggie in his (her?) pocket, and sit by you. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/8 "2006-11-16T20:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=Uvula Donor] Next time, just fucking walk. [/QUOTE] I assume thats an offer to come carry my luggage whenever it’s too heavy for me? Why thanks, how kind of you. yurt = something they have in Siberia. muke = what mules turn into at 160 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/9 "2006-11-16T20:15:12Z")
[QUOTE=The Swan] What’s a yurt?? [This.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt) It’s a little tent-like round hut that some nomadic people live in. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/10 "2006-11-16T20:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] [QUOTE=The Swan] What’s a yurt?? [/quote] Boy, I hosed that coding and good, didn’t I? I’m sure glad this week is almost over for me. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/11 "2006-11-16T21:00:07Z")
Wow **Septima** , I drive taxi part-time, a couple of days a week ( not in Oslo but…) I’m surprised you didn’t ask him to please slow down. Most of the drivers I know are very conscious of the rules of the road, if for no other reason than that a complaint from a customer usually results in the driver being grounded for 24 hours. I’ve seen it happen many times. For a driver who drives full-time and depends on it for his living, this is a severe reprimand. Anytime I have a fare going to the bus or train station or the airport, I always ask their departure time and if I feel I have to, I inform them I may have to drive a little faster than usual. Some people do leave things till the last minute. Have you thought of calling the company and making a formal complaint? Obviously, I don’t know how things work over there but I would think any responsible owner would want to know when a driver is endangering the safety of his customers. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/12 "2006-11-16T22:29:46Z")
Last month, my wife and I went with a group of family and friends to Las Vegas. Cab drivers there are a mixed bag; some are great, some are scary as hell. In a category all his own was the young fellow who opted to _program his brand new cell phone_ while driving at blinding speed. Now _that_ was scary as hell. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/13 "2006-11-16T22:40:52Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] [QUOTE=The Swan] What’s a yurt?? [This.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt) It’s a little tent-like round hut that some nomadic people live in. [/QUOTE] I now have a new favorite word. I must say, **gommsn** , you don’t sound anything like any cab driver I have ever had anywhere on this earth (outside of London). Kudos to you (even though I like fast drivers). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/14 "2006-11-17T00:37:07Z")
[QUOTE=The Swan] I now have a new favorite word. [/QUOTE] If you want to insult someone, you could say that they “live in a yurt, are covered with dirt, and have only one shirt” (from Larry Gonick’s _Cartoon History of the Universe_) ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/15 "2006-11-17T01:01:24Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] Last month, my wife and I went with a group of family and friends to Las Vegas. Cab drivers there are a mixed bag; some are great, some are scary as hell. In a category all his own was the young fellow who opted to _program his brand new cell phone_ while driving at blinding speed. Now _that_ was scary as hell. [/QUOTE] But was he able to find the Luxor in less than 3 tries? Because that would make him an improvement over the cabbie I used in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/16 "2006-11-17T04:09:01Z")
I once had a cabbie in DC who turned all the way around to talk to me, gesticulating wildly with _both_ hands, while driving down a narrow street between parked cars with lots of jaywalking pedestrians, in the rain. \ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/17 "2006-11-17T20:54:30Z")
Most cab drivers are experienced and drive better that professional race car drivers. They may appear dangerous, but your safest bet is inside the cab. Anywhere outside the cab is Death Zone, however. I take a lot of cabs, and I have to say that 95% of drivers are stellar. I’d trust them sitting my kids (if I had any). It’s that other 5% that’s very very scary and/or incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/18 "2006-11-17T21:32:19Z")
I avoid cabs when I can, but that’s not always possible when I travel on business (4-5 times a year). I have had such a wide range of experiences (mostly good, though), but it only takes one ride with a driver who scares the crap out of you to make you want to write an OP like this one. Anyway, I’ve always though it would be a good public service (and maybe make a little money doing so) to print up cards that state (in several languages) something like this: **If you take me to my destination without flagrantly violating traffic laws, I will reward you with a generous tip. If you drive in such a way that causes me to fear for my safety or for the safety of pedestrians or people in other vehicles, then you shall receive no tip at all. Choose accordingly.** If anyone want to use this idea, please go right ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/19 "2006-11-18T01:13:54Z")
I used to drive a cab in Philadelphia. Plus I’ve been a truck driver. I know what the hell I’m doing. Did you arrive in one piece? Maybe shaken but not stirred? Fucko off. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711/20 "2006-11-18T05:09:59Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] I don’t think most people appreciate it when someone comes to a lecture and vomits during it. [/QUOTE] I would have welcomed this as a diversion during some lectures I’ve attended. Provided I was at least a couple of rows away. > [@Mr. Goob](#): > > I used to drive a cab in Philadelphia. Plus I’ve been a truck driver. I know what the hell I’m doing. Water buffalo!! Aaaaaaagghhhhh!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-taxi-drivers/380711.md?page=2)