Being a passenger…

Is sometimes way worse than being a driver.   Recently I had the opportunity to travel and with this travel came a ride in a taxi from the airport to my hotel.   Now, I will say this, at no point did the cabby every drive excessively fast, but he was a very poor driver and I was a very scared passenger.   Why?

Well, let’s start with the two hands on the wheel – he did not even need one, just a knee, because he needed both his hands to play with his IPhone – yes, his IPhone.   Here I am, traveling to talk with a company about our driver programs and the fleet driver training we offer and I am taking the taxi cab ride from hell.

The cabby was juggling between his IPhone and his Garmin, while one hand would every now and then correct the steering wheel when the aforementioned knee was no longer cutting a straight path.   The car which gave us the loud horn blast obviously did not care for the cabby’s distracted driving either as we drifted into the other drivers lane.

At one point, I simply said, can you please stop playing with your phone and drive?   I am not exactly sure what he said in response, as it was inaudible, but he put the phone down and started driving.   When we finally arrived at my hotel, I paid my fare and gave him a tip, my business card – letting him know we would be more than willing to help him with his “hack” driving.

Remember, 38 states have in one form or another, banned the use of cell phones because of distracted driving and your passenger is usually more important than that of a fare.   Set a good example, put down your phone and drive.

More safe driving tips are available on our tip page of our site!

Drive Defensively!