You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
July 23rd, 2008
When I step into the obese old woman's apartment3 comments
July 16th, 2008
The obese old woman at Fred Meyer has a bad hip and a wheelchair...8 comments
July 9th, 2008
“...I need to take a shower first and wash all of this blood off.”6 comments
July 2nd, 2008
“So I’ve got these two women in the back of my cab who just refuse to get out...”8 comments
June 25th, 2008
“My friend’s getting divorced, and he’s really drunk,” says the bartender...8 comments
June 18th, 2008
There’s nothing like a good Friday night, and I’m referring to the money.3 comments
June 11th, 2008
The old man in the karaoke bar’s parking lot insists that he doesn’t need any help...0 comments
June 4th, 2008
“What’re you up to?” asks my dispatcher.6 comments
May 28th, 2008
The middle-aged guy is working on an oil ship...3 comments
May 21st, 2008
“How you doing tonight, man?”3 comments
[January 18th, 2006] "You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?" This is not the sort of observation I want to hear. These guys had set off my Spidey sense immediately. It tingled still more when they wouldn't tell me where they wanted to go, just directing me turn by turn. But the bit about the camera (which I personally think is useless—it'll only help the police figure out who killed us, reference any psychological studies of deterrence you like), this is disturbing.
For the first time in five years, I hit my panic button. This is supposed to be rapidly followed by the appearance of my compatriots in the area, of which there should be plenty. Apparently not. I seethe, picturing the scene in dispatch, my button going off while the dispatcher is probably bidding on eBay.
The tension in the cab is getting unbearable, and I do what I usually do when I get nervous or scared: be as funny as possible. There's actually sound psychological reasoning behind this (unlike the cameras). Most criminals depersonalize their victims to some extent, making it easier to hurt them. But if they start laughing at your re-enactment of a Chris Rock routine....
I'm approaching a dark park and a narrow street, and am just about to bail at a stop sign, just take off on foot, when the two guys look at each other and simply get out without a word. But I have more than a few for my dispatcher when I call in.
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You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
I wholeheartedly agree with that other driver. If that camera were (possibly) the one thing that had kept someone on the fence before, you telling this might be the nudge they need. I've polled most of my friends and a few coworkers since this article came out, most of them admit they have never given a thought one to the cameras in cabs. After speculating on my questions, they have thought the camera photos were "beamed" directly to the dispatch office. My friends are (assumably) the type to not rob a cab driver, but I think you might have jeopardized a few other people by telling this. I believe you have a dangerous job, presumably more so for females, and need every little advantage you can get. What if these 2 guys (or any others, now) are prepared for the Chris Rock?
—John
uselessness of camera
My statement that the cameras are useless are not based on what they do. They do what they are supposed to do. They take pictures of who gets in the cab. If a crime is committed, the cops can look at the pictures. Why I think they are useless is that there is absolutely no evidence that anyone who gets into a cab planning to do us harm is going to be stopped by the camera. Some guy desperate for $50 for his next rock isn't even going to _notice_ the camera, much less care. I'm not being flippant when I suggest referring to any psych studies of deterrence you like. The classic example is capital punishment. It's a "deterrent." Yet states that have it have the same, or even higher, murder rates than those that do not.
I do this job accepting that it is risky, yet wishing it was less so. But the camera doesn't make me feel safer. When they put the GPS in all the cabs yes, that was useful, that makes me feel better. Camera, no. But then that's one woman's opinion, no?
—NIGHT CABBIE
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
Sure they didn't want to act like jackasses for HBO? I used to drive cab down in Eugene, and I got that at least once a night. As if that was stop 3 after Vegas and NYC.
—DeezNutz
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
If you want a deterrent, buy a gun or better yet study martial arts or perhaps carry a tasor. There is nothing quite like a good offense which can be used as defense. I feel a lot of empathy for your position and I admire your resolve and determination to work with such varying conditions. (Like many of you I do not like guns particularly, but when it comes to protection; it is us agaisnt 'them' in the end.)
—Hans
carrying weapons
I am firmly against carrying weapons in my cab. If an assailant has a weapon, I'm not going to "outdraw" him. That's the movies. If he doesn't, the odds are even or more likely, in my favor, there is good reason for this. If I have a weapon, I have A) a false sense of security and B) something that could just possibly be taken away from me, and whereas I would have been robbed or slightly hurt I am now seriously injured or dead.
I'm surprised at the reaction to this one, frankly. I haven't "told" anyone anything about how the cameras don't work, or given criminals vital information. They work as they are supposed to work. I just don't happen to think that changes anything in the end, considering all the well-known parameters of criminal behavior.
—nightcabbie
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
So, did they fix the problem with the dispatcher?
—Lippy
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
Use pepper spray. Non lethal. Hurts like hell. Makes eyes water so you have a hard time aiming a gun. It's cheap. It's easily concealable. Keep a gun for when you get out of the cab alive.
—VEGA
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
In reading this, I right away surmised they were talking about those cameras in cabs for the HBO Show, Taxicab Confessions. Maybe they were thinking they were going to be stars.
—Cab Fan
You don't have one of those cameras in this cab, do you?
I'm all for your blurb here, but I would rather you not tell everyone that these cameras are basically useless. If a potential robber gets into my cab thinking that my dispatcher is just a button away then hopefully that's one less fare in my 30+ per night that I have to worry about. A little discretion is good for the soul, and my peace of mind. M.
—Another (female) night cabbie