REPORT: NY cracking down on cabbies using cell phones - only took 10 years
It's hard to believe, but cab drivers in New York City are prohibited by law from talking on cell phones, with or without headsets. That doesn't seem to stop them, says the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. Citing phone-related accident statistics, the commission is now proposing more stringent rules that would raise fines and even keep cabbies from using hands-free devices to chat. "We've tried everything else; there's no other way we can make this work," says Matthew W. Daus, the taxi commissioner.
In the first six months of 2009, only one ticket was issued for every 500,000 cab rides. Cabbies escape prosecution because they claim they were only wearing the hands-free devices, not using them. "Judges have been dismissing summonses because there's no proof of conversation," says Daus. Under the proposed rules, the wearing of a headset merits an infraction. Under the current rules, cab drivers are allowed to talk on cell phones while stopped at a red light. The new rules would require drivers to pull over to answer the phone.
Without a doubt, the cabbies are riled. Calling the proposed rules inhumane, they claim mobile phones are crucial in emergencies and the only way they are able to keep in touch with relatives during their 12-hour shifts. While the drafted rules are subject to public hearings next month, the drivers point out the absurdity of some of the proposals. When one organizer at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance was told that he'd have to pull over to answer a ringing phone, his amusing answer was rather succinct: "Where do you get space to put your car?"
[Source: NY Times | Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
B3astofthe3ast 11:18AM (10/19/2009)
Can a cashier answer his/her phone while on register? Can the President take a call while giving a speech? Can a kid answer his phone in class? NO, you have a job, do it, you talk on your own time, not the time I'm paying you for.
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Ron 11:27AM (10/19/2009)
YES, YES and YES!
jv2k 11:30AM (10/19/2009)
To be fair your logic is awful. Those are completely different situations that call for special attention towards a customer. So long as the cabby has an ear piece I honestly don't care. They drive like maniacs whether they are on the phone or not.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:12PM (10/19/2009)
No, he's referring to the "inhumane" aspects or the "keep in touch with relatives" stuff. 25 years ago when cell phones didn't exist, was it inhumane to be a cabbie? No. It's complete nonsense. Like David says below.
futurama 12:40PM (10/19/2009)
I couldn't agree more with B3 as well as LS7.
It's so true. If you are on the job, you are on the job. "Keep in touch with relative" is not in your job description nor a necessity. Just because you have it and available does not mean you are entitled to do so.
ack154 11:35AM (10/19/2009)
If a cabbie needs to make a call, he can do so after he lets his passengers out. But if he has people in the car that are going to a destination - he should not be on his phone. Period.
EVERY time I've been in a cab in NYC, the driver has been on his phone (both with and without handsfree).
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nrb 11:43AM (10/19/2009)
He can talk on the phone while he's giving me a ride, but I expect him to split the fare 50/50 with me.
AMcA 9:30PM (10/19/2009)
My god, here in Chicago that's all cabbies do. Each and every one of them is mumbling in some mysterious language into a a handsfree doo-hickey the entire time you're in the cab. I can't begin to imagine what all that important business is they're doing in these calls.
adrenalnjunky 11:40AM (10/19/2009)
oh noes!!! Whatever did the cabbies do before cellphones? Oh wait - their families still got on by themselves, emergencies were still emergencies, and the world kept rotating on its axis.
There are days I really wish that device had never been created.
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icandigthat 11:56AM (10/19/2009)
I'm torn between not wanting a phone call to effect a cabbie's driving and my safety and animosity toward the city government for yet again sticking it to a group of people that provide a major service to us urban dwellers. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't for the cabbies: Get a ticket for talking while driving or get a ticket for pulling over where they're not supposed to just to take a call.
I'm pretty ambivalent on this issue because i can't see a right side either way. That said, some quality control on the smell of Taxi interiors would be a much more worthwhile endeavor in my eyes....and nose.
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AMcA 9:33PM (10/19/2009)
There's an answer to your ambivalence: driving is what the law calls a "highly regulated activity". It's something that doesn't work unless there are all sorts of rules about it - imagine if there were no traffic regulations. Automobiles would cease to be useful, or they would be very dangerous.
Where you've got a highly regulated activity, you can put aside your libertarian concerns.
On the other hand, when they start after your afternoon snack, it's "To the Barricades!"
DIAF 12:03PM (10/19/2009)
If we take NYC cabbies off their phones, who will provide tech support for Dell?
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Tourian 1:59PM (10/19/2009)
Well played, sir.
David 12:08PM (10/19/2009)
I work a 12 hr shift and get by with one 15 minute call to family members a day. Why can't cabbies?
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JZeke 12:15PM (10/19/2009)
Wheres a "I like this" button when you want one?
Andre Neves 12:43PM (10/19/2009)
So when are they going to crack down on Cops talking on the phone while driving?
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rv 1:01PM (10/19/2009)
I see no harm in letting cabbies talk. All of them do it. Its not like all of them are getting into accidents.
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Epyx 2:19PM (10/19/2009)
Not all drunk drivers get into accidents either. It is called mitigating a known risk.
LesPaul1 1:04PM (10/19/2009)
Yeah it's a job, but as technology has progressed.. it has been used to make mundane, extremely boring work.. aka cab driving, somewhat bearable. If I was a cab driver, I'd use my blue tooth headset all day long. I drive in manhattan all the time, yeah it's one of the most hectic places on earth to drive, but most of us can multi-task safely. I've never been in an accident while in a cab, *knock on wood*.
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futurama 1:35PM (10/19/2009)
I don't know about you, but driving is not mundane nor extremely boring work, especially a taxi driver.
Driving can be tiring, but it's never dull. You have a mission to go from point A to B as fast as possible, yet you have to be very safe - cannot hit or get hit!! - and in style!! There are obstacles to avoid and other a-hole drivers to hustle! There are people to watch and cars and surroundings for you to enjoy looking at, all the while paying attention to the road.
Your favorite news/music/talk radio (even better with satellite coverage) got your company if all else fails. and most importantly you have a customer you can analyze if you wish to or entertain/talk to if both parties are in agreement.
Also, nothing is stopping you if you still find it boring and unbearable. Just quit and get a job that lets you talk on the phone all the time! I hear 'Call Center' is hiring...