Nearly attacked on the job....

I'm still kinda running on adrenalin as I type this, I bloody nearly got attacked by a paranoid schizophrenic on the way to Hamilton after I refused his demands that I speed like a maniac on the highway....

Picked this guy up downtown Brantford and right away I smelled something was wrong as he insisted that I just get going as " the guy in the black car is out to get me I'm being chased"

He starts talking gibberish ie about having a job interview with George Bush at the White House tommorrow and right away that raised my danger alert, he took out a key on a plastic ring and just started swinging it.

Next thing I know he's barking demands that I get in the fast lane and speed it up as the car behind us was chasing him at which point I said " No, I'm in control of this cab and I will drive as I see fit and if you continue this I'm kicking you out" He then said I paid for this cab, I said I don't care, " I'll call the cops on you" he said

At which point I immediately took my seatbelt off incase he decided to get worse.... this guy was just NUTS!!!

Crazy.

I was in Manhattan last week, about a block from where I lived for 7-8 years, and I had some #$*&$#*$* lunge at me like he was going to attack me. He was just screwing around, trying to scare people -- to get his friends to laugh -- but I was pissed. He must have assumed I was a tourist, and not a long-time native New Yorker, because I immediately started in with a "what the HELL do you think you're doing?"

There are a lot of legitimately crazy people in this world....you've got to be careful and just stay calm, not let the testosterone flow.

Sounds like you handled it well.

That is scary, cabbie. I can't imagine being in an enclosed space like that! But what happened? Did you drive him all the way to Hamilton? Do you have an emergency alarm in a cab, so you can call for help in a situation like that?

I hope things like this don't happen often...I understand why some cities have a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment.

Originally posted by Sammie5
That is scary, cabbie. I can't imagine being in an enclosed space like that! But what happened? Did you drive him all the way to Hamilton? Do you have an emergency alarm in a cab, so you can call for help in a situation like that?

I hope things like this don't happen often...I understand why some cities have a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment.

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Brantford taxi cabs have no emergency alarm, the only thing I have is a cell phone.. ya I drove him all the way to Hamilton, as fast as I could legally get away with, he was only going downtown Hamilton.... I immediately bolted the cab with him still in it and I walked far enough away from him, when he stepped away from the cab I immediately dove in the drivers seat hit the power locks. That way he couldn't get back in again.

gosh, thank god that he didn't do any harm to you... i would freak out if it happened to me

he was only going downtown Hamilton...

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Oh great. Thanks a lot. You probably dropped him off in front of *my* house.

Even though I realise that this is an older post, it is still something that takes place daily for taxi drivers. Thank goodness for you, the situation was controllable. It is the unfortunate tale of the "life of a cabbie", and too many people do not realise how serious it has become. The taxi industry has the esteemed spot of most dangerous job in world (in regards to homicide and assault). Myself and my partner have dedicated our efforts to that of the taxi industry at www.taxidriver.ca . We address issues of safety, news, by-laws and even the history of the trade. Please feel free to visit, we are currently in four Ontario cities as of right now. We will be expanding to cover all of Ontario (and perhaps Canada). The site is basically set up to asisst drivers when they do not know where else to turn, and a place to keep them truly informed. Have a look, perhaps there is some investigating that needs to be done in your city...

Robin Greenhalgh
www.taxidriver.ca