Some cabbies suck!

What the F are we to do about cabbies? They are the main culprit in bad driver/biker relations. I want to know how to resolve this ugly thing. I had a run in with one tonight and I am about to go Charles Bronson on they ass! I am actually, at this point, out for blood! I can't take this shit any more! Why can't I bike home without some asshole cabbie cutting me off or acting aggressively towards me? I am just trying to get home! I assume they have the same goal? So what is the big issue that divides us? They want the road to themselves, period! So what to do?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 8, 2009 at 6:37am
What planet do you live on or do you never actually ride in/interact with cabs?

I have seen multiple distracted cab drivers from both the inside and outside of a cab, usually due to a cell phone. Twice in my life I have removed a cabbie's bluetooth headset by force due to this.

They are often drunk, or on some other kind of chemical. Cabbies, like truckers, make frequent use of uppers in order to run longer.

Cabbies are regularly completely oblivious and several of the ones I have had run ins with where completely unaware I was there.

It doesn't matter what the passenger says or does, the cabbie is the one who needs to follow the rules of the road. Just because is hailed or asked to drop off in an unsafe or illegal manner it does not mean he has to comply with that.

Clark said:
Well I kinda LIKE cabbies. They are professional drivers who DO know how to drive. And they may be aggressive, but they usually drive with expertise. They're never drunk or distracted...their hack license (and livelihood) is in the balance. So even tho they may pass close-by, and stop unexpectedly, at least I know they're not going to carelessly hit me on the streets.

It is really their passengers who are dangerous. They flag down cabbies, going the opposite direction, in the middle of the street instead of at an open section of curb. They order cabbies to drop them off wherever they like, rather than where there is room to park. And they carelessly swing those doors open without looking back. Cabbies take orders from their passengers, hoping for a good tip. Its a tough job. We need a program to educate cab PASSENGERS!
Permalink Reply by Jessica on November 8, 2009 at 12:01pm
Not sure what truckers you're talking about, but any trucker that doesn't own his rig takes drug tests, and a max they can drive/day.

Please don't go bashing an industry you don't know well.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 8, 2009 at 1:27pm
Janky log books and speed are what makes the world of trucking run. There are lots of guys who run by the rules and drive clean but there are lots who don't.

I send stuff by truck all the time and I know based on arrival to me, departure and arrival of my load that drivers frequently drive longer then the law.

Jessica said:
Not sure what truckers you're talking about, but any trucker that doesn't own his rig takes drug tests, and a max they can drive/day.

Please don't go bashing an industry you don't know well.
Permalink Reply by T.C. O'Rourke on November 8, 2009 at 3:01pm
A few items in no particular order...

1) (Most?) Cabs are leased for 24 hour periods and no one except the lessee may operate it during this time. This insane policy encourages drivers to operate as many hours as they can stay awake... sometimes longer.

2) I ride 10 solid hours a week in the Loop and River North, beyond recreation & commuting. I think it is fair to say there is a serious behavior problem in regards to cab drivers.

I have had cabbies nudge my trailer twice in the last month, both times while I was yelling for them to stop. Rather than try to figure out what my problem was, they chose to assume they knew better and actually hit me (in slow motion.) There is a definite arrogant recklessness here.

3) The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection takes complaints about cab drivers: https://servicerequest.cityofchicago.org/web_intake_chic/Controller... I have only complained as a passenger, but I have been told that dangerous driving can be reported as well. The driver has to attend, but the complainant is contacted over the phone during the hearing.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 8, 2009 at 4:00pm
I've occasionally encountered cabbies who were real professionals - polite with their passengers, reasonable in how they drove. These have been the exception, and I've usually seen them in the morning or early afternoon. When I'm a passenger and the driver is a true professional and gives a reasonable, pleasant ride, I make a point to thank him for it and tip him well.

Some of my scariest experiences as a passenger have been with new immigrants who barely know the city, don't appear to know or understand our rules of the road, and may not even speak much English. They seemed to be driving by the rules of Delhi or Cairo, not Chicago. The all-time scariest was a Russian driver treating Wacker Drive like a non-stop high-speed slalom course, making me feel like I was inside a video game. I told him I needed to be at my destination (1 mile away) in 15 minutes, and said he didn't need to rush. Even when I asked him to slow down, he was trying to pass every other car and run as many lights as possible. I didn't ask for a life-threatening experience.

On the flip side, when I'm riding my bike and see a cab nearby, I find that the passenger (or lack of one) is a good predictor of cabbie behavior. If there's no passenger, I scan ahead and look for people trying to flag him down. If there IS a passenger, I try look there for body language cues. It's not a surefire thing, but sometimes it helps.
Permalink Reply by Jessica on November 9, 2009 at 3:03am
If they drive for another company, they did not drive longer than the law. They transferred the load, or had two people in the cab, but the driver didn't drive longer than he was allowed. Same deal with people claiming they've seen semi's doing 80mph+. No, you haven't. There are governors on those trucks. 75 is pretty much max at any given time.

I personally know a semi driver who got into an accident, and I know what they (the companies) do/know/monitor in order to stay out of trouble.
Permalink Reply by jen on November 9, 2009 at 3:51am
They're trying to make money (and the faster they move, the more money they can possibly make) ... that's the difference.

I have no idea what cabbies have to go through to become cabbies. Based on observing them, I assume there's no driving test involved.

There definitely needs to be more regulation / auditing of cabbies. Very recently, I, myself, was almost run down by one as I crossed the street on the white man icon. Said cabbie was turning right and decided he had priority. The worst part ... there was a biker cop 100 ft away that watched it all happen and didn't flinch.
Permalink Reply by cutifly on November 9, 2009 at 4:15am
Just keep in mind the only person who is gonna give a crap about you and your safety is yourself.
Permalink Reply by pjc jr on November 9, 2009 at 4:31am
Can't believe anyone would defend a cabbie? They are the scum of the roads (except when I need one in an emergency)! They have no regard for anything on the road except a paying customer. Rarely properly signalling, honking at pedesterians, and everyone is on the phone. Most of them seem to speak poor to horrible english which shocks me that they are even given a lincense and a job.

This occupation is destroying are right to breath. I think there is an underlining mission to destroy our quality of life and kill as many americans as there insurance will let them. The automobile is the tool of the devil! I would feel safer being a solider in Afganistan then riding my bike in this city.

I just had a recent (couple nights ago) experience of one pointing his Death Machine in my direction and gunning it. I was so scared and shaken up I kept my distance, for all I wanted to do is drag the guy out of the car and scare him equally as bad. Fortunately, another cyclist observed this and had words with the driver at the next light. Thanks cute girl on nice ride, you cerntainly made my night and you were able to address his action more calmly then I could of.

Why are we not pushing for more legislation to make it harder to be a lincensed driver. Piloting two tons of metal, and killing more human beings then any current war or even natural causes you would think this would make it the fore front of current issues. Health care maybe wouldn't be such a problem if hundreds of people weren't dying everyday in result of the automobile. Makes me scratch my head! Gotta love ignorant, lazy americans, right! The rest of the world should do it are way! Right?
Permalink Reply by Jessica on November 9, 2009 at 5:14am
HOLY COW! You are whining and moaning about their english skills?!?

My head exploded reading all your spelling errors and misuses of the English language.

Their, there, and they're. Learn them.

OUR NOT ARE.

License, not however the hell you were spelling it.

Can I see your statistics on how many people they've killed? More than ANY war? Wow. Talk about gross overgeneralization.

An underlining mission, huh? Really? Is that like highlighting?

You'd feel safer in Afghanistan, huh? Why don't you head on out then. If you don't like riding, DON'T.

Ignorant ass people. YOU are the reason they hate us. We are to SHARE the road. NO ONE has to or 'should' do it like us. (BTW, easy on the 'us'. I'd rather not be associated with people like you.)

Cutifly had it right. If you can't look out for yourself, just quit it all together.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 9, 2009 at 6:09am
*sigh*

No, they did not transfer loads; much of the stuff I ship requires a crane to load/unload and I often meet the load and see the same driver that I loaded. I have also received and shipped permitted loads after sun down and before sunset.

When the trucker drives a load for a broker the broker could care less about how long the driver runs and many small operators don't care, and sometimes encourage, their drivers to run over hours.

Trucks, in general, are not governed at any speed; some large van lines choose to do this (Schneider does, Yellow, last I saw, did not) but for the most part the only limit to a trucks top speed is limited only by the drivers sanity.

Not only do I deal with trucking, both local and OTR, several times a week but I spent years working on trucks.

Poorly maintained semis with under trained and over tired drivers working for to little money to NOT break the rules are the most dangerous thing on our highways today.

Jessica said:
If they drive for another company, they did not drive longer than the law. They transferred the load, or had two people in the cab, but the driver didn't drive longer than he was allowed. Same deal with people claiming they've seen semi's doing 80mph+. No, you haven't. There are governors on those trucks. 75 is pretty much max at any given time.
I personally know a semi driver who got into an accident, and I know what they (the companies) do/know/monitor in order to stay out of trouble.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 9, 2009 at 6:11am
Ah! Another fun day at ChainLink ;)

From the comments it appears that cabbies are just like bicyclists: there are good ones, not so good ones, and absolute jerks.

I believe the true problem is that everyone believes that they are more important than the rest of the world. It doesn't matter whether you are a cab driver, pedestrian, bicyclist or regular car user. We are all more important than the guy next to us!

Even bicyclists often fall in that category. Blowing red lights? No problem, because riding your bike is morally superior/I need to keep up my momentum/insert your own favorite excuse here.

I can already see the discussion at the cabbies favorite hangout: "Man, I trying to make a living here, and these damn cyclists think they own the road! Don't know the rules, don't know how to dress. They are all drunk or smoking pot. they are all living on their parents trust fund. I wish they would get a job". I'll stop here, but it would be easy to add a few dozen more generalizations about cyclists

Let's take down the self-righteous attitude a notch and face the fact that we all share the road.

Oh yeah, I agree with Cutifly.

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