Cab driver hits and kills man on sidewalk at Milwaukee and Chicago

This morning, 6:15 am, cab driver veers onto sidewalk, hits a light pole, flips the cab four times or more, and hits and kills a 30-year-old man who was sitting on a bench waiting for the bus. So horrible. One commenter at the end of the story said her boyfriend witnessed this and estimated the cab driver was going 60 mph.

 

Tribune story is here.

 

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on August 15, 2012 at 6:08am
I disagree that 1 violation per year is acceptable. Both of my parents drove taxis for over 15 years and at most they were getting a ticket every 2-3 years. My Dad never got into any accidents and my Mom had two. One was a rear end collision while she was stopped at a red light. The other was spinning out on black ice at 5am on the Kennedy but she didn't hit anybody else. Thankfully she came out of both more shaken than hurt. My Mom now drives a limo and got her first ticket about 6 months ago from the last 4-5 years. She has yet to get a red light violation in the mail Both of my parents prided themselves as being professional chauffeurs and not just drivers.
Permalink Reply by Josh.E on August 15, 2012 at 6:33am

One thing that i haven't seen was if the cab was maintained properly.  I've ridden in cabs that haven't been maintained properly be it ball joints knocking, squealing brakes almost bald tires.  Some of these companies have "back alley mechanic fixes" just to save a couple of bucks like removing the low brake indicator so it wont squeal just to get a few more miles out of the brakes. The majority of these cabs are old police cars that have been retired because they have too many miles most have just under 100,000 miles and can't pass the inspection that they are required to have just about every week.  Doesn't matter who the driver is at that point if they are in a crap car then things like this could happen.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 15, 2012 at 6:49am

That's a very good question.  I've had similar experiences in some cabs.  A police officer friend has told some tales about cheapo late night mechanics who keep some cabs on the road that probably should have been scrapped years ago.

I certainly get John's point about not passing judgment prematurely.  However, it's extremely difficult to believe that a vehicle could get out of control on a city street to the point of reaching 100 mph without some fault on the part of the driver.  I'll look forward to hearing more details as they become available.

Josh.E said:

One thing that i haven't seen was if the cab was maintained properly.  I've ridden in cabs that haven't been maintained properly be it ball joints knocking, squealing brakes almost bald tires.  Some of these companies have "back alley mechanic fixes" just to save a couple of bucks like removing the low brake indicator so it wont squeal just to get a few more miles out of the brakes. The majority of these cabs are old police cars that have been retired because they have too many miles most have just under 100,000 miles and can't pass the inspection that they are required to have just about every week.  Doesn't matter who the driver is at that point if they are in a crap car then things like this could happen.  

Permalink Reply by Michelle Loomis on August 15, 2012 at 6:52am

I agree with you here! My mom has worked as a professional driver for a hospital for over 25 years. In all that time driving 8 hours a day for work plus ~2 hours getting to/from work and running erronds, she has NEVER had a moving violation. The behaviour of these cab drives on the road in Chicago is unacceptable.  

Rich S said:

I disagree that 1 violation per year is acceptable. Both of my parents drove taxis for over 15 years and at most they were getting a ticket every 2-3 years. My Dad never got into any accidents and my Mom had two. One was a rear end collision while she was stopped at a red light. The other was spinning out on black ice at 5am on the Kennedy but she didn't hit anybody else. Thankfully she came out of both more shaken than hurt. My Mom now drives a limo and got her first ticket about 6 months ago from the last 4-5 years. She has yet to get a red light violation in the mail Both of my parents prided themselves as being professional chauffeurs and not just drivers.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 15, 2012 at 6:55am

I have, and I would again if I felt my safety was being compromised by a poor cab driver -or any other driver for that matter.   But after traveling outside of the USA my calibration has been slightly skewed.  Cab drivers by and far operate in a safe and sane manner when compared to the rest of the world.  We are very lucky that things are nowhere near as bad as much of the rest of the world.  When I was in Peru a couple of years ago I just opted for a blindfold and a rosary.  It was just easier that way.  Walking wasn't an option.

notoriousDUG said:

Lets turn it around.  Would you get out of a cab where the driver was acting in a unprofessional manner?


Permalink Reply by Rich S on August 15, 2012 at 8:06am
Deal! Although we'll have to have one together on their behalf. My Mom rides her bike every now and again but I can't quite picture her coming on marauders!



Serge Lubomudrov said:

You should invite your rodzicieli to one of the Chainlink events, so I can buy them a drink :)

Rich S said:

I disagree that 1 violation per year is acceptable. Both of my parents drove taxis for over 15 years and at most they were getting a ticket every 2-3 years. My Dad never got into any accidents and my Mom had two. One was a rear end collision while she was stopped at a red light. The other was spinning out on black ice at 5am on the Kennedy but she didn't hit anybody else. Thankfully she came out of both more shaken than hurt. My Mom now drives a limo and got her first ticket about 6 months ago from the last 4-5 years. She has yet to get a red light violation in the mail Both of my parents prided themselves as being professional chauffeurs and not just drivers.
Permalink Reply by spencewine on August 16, 2012 at 5:13am
Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 16, 2012 at 9:21am

speaking of considerate...

Yesterday I saw a cab with a right side mirror for passgengers It was mounted on the right pasenger door and stuck out only a few inches. Looked like a neat solution to reduce the potential of being doored by exiting passengers
...



Serge Lubomudrov said:

Here you go . . .

. . . From my interactions with taxi cabs while riding a bicycle, I daresay the majority of them are dangerous. This is just an observation, of course.

The opposite is very seldom in my experience. I still remember the cab (number 3429) whose driver was so considerate and careful passing me and other cyclists, that I thanked the driver when I caught up with him on a red light, and commended his performance on 311 website.

spencewine said:

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 16, 2012 at 10:04am

Excellent!

Duppie said:

speaking of considerate...

Yesterday I saw a cab with a right side mirror for passgengers It was mounted on the right pasenger door and stuck out only a few inches. Looked like a neat solution to reduce the potential of being doored by exiting passengers
...

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on September 10, 2012 at 2:22pm

It's encouraging to see that there has been an ongoing investigation and the agencies are taking this incident very seriously.

Now it would be nice if the Tribune would remove the word "accident" from the article and use the more neutral word "crash" instead. "Accident" connotes an event that was the fault of no one, and until a  judge or jury has rendered a final verdict based on full evidence, we cannot assume it was "just an accident".

It would help if the city's Major Accident Unit were renamed "Major Crash Investigation Unit" or something similar as well. Word choice matters.


John Durham said:

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on September 11, 2012 at 11:06am

Today's news. The prosecutor said the taxi driver had picked up a fare and was going to Northwestern Memorial. He ran two red lights on Milwaukee at Chicago and Noble, and weaved in and out of his lane at high speeds. He did not test positive for drugs or alcohol.

The Tribune used the word "crash" throughout this article (except in the picture caption, which was probably written by a copy or photo editor); thank you, Trib reporter J. Meisner.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cabbie-ordere...

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on September 11, 2012 at 12:05pm

 until a  judge or jury has rendered a final verdict based on full evidence, we cannot assume it was "just an accident".

Michelle, I usually don't disagree with you, but as to what we can or cannot assume, I do.  The man is charged with a criminal offense.  He is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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