I had the most traumatic cabbing experience last night.
If you think that the cab driver sped or cut lane recklessly,
those are things of the past.
After having flagged a CityCab at Choa Chu Kang, a white Mercedes
cab from the 3rd lane immediately cut into the last lane and
halted before me. As I needed a cab that allows NETS transaction,
I insisted on taking the CityCab behind. Initially I thought I did
a good deed by boarding an old driver's cab, but moments later I
regretted terribly.
Firstly, he drove at a mere speed of 40km/h on normal roads and
held onto the last lane. Then when I told him to turn right, he
put up his left hand and gestured left as he asked "Right ar,
right ar?" He was hovering slowly between the two middle lanes
without signaling and THAT freaking instant scared the shit out
of me. I had to raise my voice "RIGHT! RIGHT!" as I pointed in
that direction. Finally the uncle understood me and responded
"Ohhhhh okay..."
At the junction, he turned right over-cautiously like he was
extremely afraid of coming close to the car beside him. And a
while later, he returned to hogging the last lane despite a road
block ahead. The cab driver practically waited till he was just
behind the road block before deciding that it was time to filter
out. I was seriously getting irritated when I saw the reading on
the meter going up, up and up while the cab was still going ever-
so-slowly!
Just when I thought he was gradually gaining speed, he abruptly
stopped by the pedestrian passageway and asked, "What does the
road sign behind read ar?" OMG it was crazy so I replied, "Uncle,
I know the way. It reads 'PIE', so just go straight ahead. I will
let you know where to go. You haven't driven to Serangoon before?"
I tried not to sound rude as I said that. Can you believe he later
drove at only 60km/h even on expressway???!!!! WTF man!
And then, my nightmare came when the driver almost got on the wrong
expressway. "Go up, uncle, go up the expressway to Toa Payoh! Not
the one on the right!", I exclaimed. To my horror, he stopped the cab
in the middle of the expressway and waited damn long before he eventually
turned to the right route. Oh man, this cab driver honestly has too
big a heart that he kept giving way even though the next oncoming
vehicle was far beyond sight. I really have no idea how he passed
the taxi driver test. People should learn to accept the fact when
it's time for them to retire. There is a reason for that. Don't put
others' life at risk.
