Taxi drivers deal with all sorts of people, day in and day out.
Normally, their fares are just regular Joes and Janes on their way home or to their jobs or to a restaurant to meet their friends. Maybe they take people to the airport or the bus station while they're at it.
Then there are the times that people jump in, rushing all the while, and order them to gun it, adding some excitement to their shifts.
Who were these people and what were their stories? Drivers (and passengers) told us what happened after Redditor SDMFTX asked the online community:
"Taxi drivers of Reddit. Have you ever had anyone jump in your car and yell drive!? What did you do?"
"I always get my tickets..."
"I have been the person to jump in a car and yell that, followed by the address."
"My dedit card expired on the day I was going to embark on a £180+ train journey (The loss would have been crippling to me at the time and I also could only do this journey once), and I couldn't get the tickets as a result, so I had to go back to my house to retrieve documents to prove I was allowed aboard."
"I tipped him very well for his speed and understanding, by which I mean I threw a twenty and a ten at his passenger seat, shouted 'Thank you very much!' and gunned it out the door because I had only a few minutes to get aboard the train on the ride back. Went so fast I skidded into the station."
"I always get my tickets in advance now."
MaievSakashi
It sounds like you really learned your lesson.
Getting tickets in advance makes the most sense.
"It was awesome..."
"I’ve done it! Years ago in San Francisco, my family mostly got into one taxi except my dad and I. We hailed the next one, jumped in and yelled, 'Follow that cab!!!!!'"
"It was awesome, our driver thought it was hilarious and drove like a crazy person."
Good_parabola
Your driver sounds like a good sport—thankfully you didn't get into an accident!
"Yeah."
"Yeah. He jumped in, screamed, 'Drive!' I asked where. He said, 'Home, i need to piss!' He was very drunk. Didn't tip."
KrisElke
Sounds like a crappy excuse. Tip your drivers, people!
"So another ten minutes pass..."
"Not exactly a jump in and drive, but, yeah, it happened once."
"Got an early morning trip picking a guy up from a busy part of the city at like 7am. He tells me to go sit in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot facing the main road. I'm getting paid wait time. So, I don't care at first, but after a good 15 minutes, I had to ask."
His story: He broke up with his ex girlfriend some months prior so that he could get his shit together. They broke up for both of their sakes, but it definitely sounded like her idea. Anyway, he tells me he's getting on a plane to another state to start a new job, new life kind of thing. Tomorrow."
"He knows his ex girlfriend's route to work and we were watching her neighborhood exit. We were going to chase her down for a final goodbye."
"So, another ten minutes pass and we finally see the vehicle he had described for me pull up to the light to turn right."
"We get to the light across from it and are waiting to turn left. Naturally, when the light changes, she goes first and we end up having to literally chase her down through morning rush hour traffic on a busy 2 Lane road for about 2 miles and 4 intersections before we get next to her, he flags her down, and we all pull off into a restaurant parking lot."
"Much to my delight, she was actually glad to see him, they exchanged a lot of hugs and kisses, held each other, and spoke in intimate, soft tones for a good twenty minutes. (Yeah the meter was still running.) It was really sweet, if a little boring to sit through."
"I got him back home afterwards, he was really grateful, and paid me what I was owed. No tip, but it was a decent fare of about $50."
LoneQuietus81
Well, dang.
Did they get back together??
You can't just leave us hanging like this!
"Was clubbing..."
"Was clubbing with a large group of friends in Blackpool, and we had to split to two groups to fit in cabs, my friend who knew where the club was got in the front car, and me and a few others got in the one behind."
Which meant I got to say to the driver, 'Follow that car.' The driver just smiled and did exactly that."
PurplePurp
The driver was probably waiting for someone to do just that.
"I was running late..."
"Not quite 'drive' but more of an emotional breakdown got him to drive faster.
"I was running late to my plane because I was in a new city. My phone was running flat, so I borrow his car charger to call the airport."
"It was the last plane of the day and his ETA would have my arrive as the plane was due to leave. I asked if they could hold it 10 minutes to save me spending the night in the airport and they said no."
"I started bawling my eyes out because I was broke and facing the prospect of spending $300 and a night in an airport all alone."
"Without saying anything, he took the very expensive toll roads and got me there with 5 mins to spare. I ran like hell and made it with literally seconds to spare. I think the uber cost $50 but the toll roads were like $10."
MetalDetectorials
That driver was a good person—thankfully you made it!
"One time..."
"One time, I had to explain to him I did Uber EATS."
chillest_dude
So what you're saying is that you gunned it to the nearest restaurant, right?
"Rest assured..."
"I drove in my early 20s for about half a year. My taxi training was pretty comprehensive and I really enjoyed it."
"It covered using the street directory effectively, rubbed in the point that I had a permit to drive a taxi but I was still driving on the same licence and so despite driving 12 hrs a day, I still only had 12 demerit points to last an entire year."
"It taught that passengers will not cover your fines despite any claims to the contrary, gave very clear reasons to resist the temptation to accept 'alternative financial arrangements' but it did not cover what to do when a guy, face covered in blood, jumps in the car with his girlfriend and urgently encourages you to GO! while angry people are running up the mall towards you."
"I had no idea of what to do! The compassionate side of me said 'Get this guy to the nearest medical facility' (or at the least, away from trouble). The risk-averse side of me asked, 'Do you really want to be an accomplice to a crime?'"
"So, coward that I am, I just left my foot on the brake and told him sorry mate, not getting involved! Please leave! He tried for another 20 seconds then his girlfriend said, 'He's not taking us hon, let's go" and they both got out and hoofed it."
"Rest assured that I replayed that scene dozens of times in my memory that night and in the days that followed. Did I do the right thing? I still can't answer that question."
ratsta
Something tells me that it's unlikely there is a single jurisdiction that would criminalize you for taking a wounded person to a hospital, though.
"Anyway..."
"I drove a taxi for a few months in a town next to the sea. It was a quiet afternoon, I’d only had two fares in 90 minutes and whilst parked on the taxi rank reading, suddenly one of the rear doors gets yanked open, a rucksack thrown in."
"A guy dives in headfirst shouting 'Get this car to the boat as fast as she’ll go,' and I burst out laughing, I’d never expected anything like that to happen in real life."
"Anyway, being familiar with the ferry times I knew we had plenty of time, it was only a two-mile journey and the boat didn’t sail for another 20 minutes, so no laws were broken getting him there. The guy was in too much of a hurry though, he threw me a £20 and didn’t wait for his £18 change."
EarlyGovernment190
Well, you made some quick and easy money for taking him to his destination, so it sounds like a win-win to me.
Who knew being a driver could be so exciting?
Well, they certainly know.
Trust—they've seen it all.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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