Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, approved unanimously

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by nullc on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @06:51AM (#21268989)

My experience with with most professional drivers is that they're very calm and cerebral in their driving-- deftly anticipating and avoiding accidents, finding other driver's idiocy amusing if they take any special note of it at all. They patently wait rather than taking seconds-shaving risky maneuvers because they've seen it all and know what can go wrong. They drive predictably, use their signals, etc.

So why is it that almost all my experience in taxis is that the driver seems to be a crazed maniac with a presumably diagnoseable rage disorder? They drive like their car has a bomb strapped to it that will go off if they ever yield at any point, unless they signal a temporary disarm code (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) by pulse width modulating their horn immediately after each and every yield event. Any use of their turn signals, however, will block the transmission of the disarm sequence, so they must be used sparingly if at all. Fortunately, their cars are seemingly powered by near misses with pedestrians combined with a form of fusion, so they have little reason to yield in the first place.

This is both my experience as a passenger in these drivers vehicles as well as from sharing the road with them.

It is just that my experience with taxies is mostly in dense city areas and my experience with other professional drivers is in other places with fewer drugs in the water? Is there something about driving a large truck that magically creates more consciousnesses? Is the idea that your life flashing before your eyes repeatedly will convince you of the relative worthlessness of money and cause to to leave a larger tip?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by bound008 on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @09:00AM (#21269851)

According to an anecdotal sample of taxi drivers, they drive aggressively for the same reason Southwest Airlines has stops. The _flag_ paid when starting a ride is the most profitable part of the ride. For Southwest, they are an expert at the turnaround, and the most they take-off and land, the more passengers, the more profit.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by dual_basis on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @07:46AM (#21269325)

I always thought that this was because taxi drivers wanted to appear, to their passenger, that they were trying to get them there as fast as possible.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by bluGill on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @09:22AM (#21270030)

Taxis are paid by distance, not time. So if they can cheat the rules and drop you off faster they get the same amount of money from the customer and can go look for the next customer.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by mrmuagi on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @05:32PM (#21276022)

> So why is it that almost all my experience in taxis is that the driver seems to be a crazed maniac with a presumably diagnoseable rage disorder?

Payment is based on distance driven right? So more trips, more money. I could see the incentive like that to cause it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by CaoCao on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @08:37AM (#21269678)

I imagine taxi drivers are much more diverse than the professional drivers you have experience with.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, ... by MagnumOpus on Tuesday October 22, 2019 @05:57PM (#21328859)

That’s not it. Here in London taxi drivers are stereotypically white, male and over-50, while bus drivers come in a wide variety of race, sex and age groups.

Nonetheless almost all cabbies are a menace to pedestrians, cyclists and each other, while most bus drivers seem to be blessed with saintly patience as well as admirable professional driving skills.

[ Parent | on HN ]