Showing posts with label crashed taxi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crashed taxi. Show all posts

August 11, 2012

August 8, 2009 – I Get In Fender-Benders Like They’re Going Out of Style


           Yep, another one.  Same things that happens every time.  An overly timid driver darts into traffic and panics, slamming on their breaks.  In anticipation of them being a good driver, I see them moving forwards and anticipate them having the courage to merge.  They do not.  It’s really hard to describe the intersection unless you see it.  It’s a mess.

            It’s my fault, although not my fault alone.  The girl was nice about it.  She lives in PB and her car gets hit all of the time she tells me.  We go separate ways.  I think part of the problem is that I’m just so tired.  Perhaps it was because I was up smoking pot till 4 a.m.  That’s the only thing that makes this job tolerable.  I’ve been slamming a few beers, and eating chunks of cheese and just going to bed – but I like smoking better.

            I would just get a medical marijuana card and be done with it, but I’d still be violating federal transportation regulations.  That would be fine though, because Catherine’s never heard of it.

Get this –

            Recently a driver was given a random drug test.  He tested positive for Marijuana.  Catherine then told him that he couldn’t continue to work here.  When he explained that he was prescribed Marijuana for medical purposes Catherine was dumbfounded.  She had never heard of California’s Medical Marijuana Initiative…

Never even heard of it -

            Mysteriously, about a month later all the drivers were brought in to sign a new contract with company.  The reason?  They had lost all of the old contracts and needed the drivers to sign the “exact same” contracts.  I wondered how they disappeared right out of the file cabinet?  The office had lied, they weren’t exactly the same.  There was an addendum stating that being prescribed Marijuana for medical purposes would not be allowed by company employees. 

November 6, 2008

November 6, 2008 – Geppetto

           Every once in a while one of our drivers gets into an accident.  I can’t say the same for “Geppetto,” he gets into them like they are going out of style.

            Suffice it to say “Geppetto” is his nickname, based on the fact that he looks like the old man from the Disney children’s classic “Pinocchio.”  Hopefully everyone’s familiar with Pinocchio.  Geppetto is a sixty something Polish guy.  At least I think he’s Polish, he has claimed several different nationalities.  One thing's for sure, he drives like a madman.  Tonight he crashed into a car, hopped a curb, and rolled to a stop just inches from the town’s police department.  The taxi was pretty banged up, as was the other car.  It’s probably safe to say that they were both totaled.


            It was quite a scene – fire trucks, ambulances, and squad cars.  Thankfully Geppetto was ok.  Strange thing though, the airbags didn’t go off.  Well, strange from a casual observers viewpoint.  Doesn’t seem all that strange to me, but then there’s things that I know about Cortez Cab that most people don’t.  Like the fact that Catherine doesn’t change the airbags once they deploy.  Why? Because that’s too expensive.  With that being said (by Catherine) it’s safe to say that the drivers lives are worth somewhere less than the $500 or so that it would cost to have the airbags replaced.

            All joking aside I find that rather disturbing.  For an outfit that “employs” drivers to utilize company vehicles doing official business, I would think that this would be a priority – the safety of it’s (the company’s) workers.  Air bags shouldn’t be expendable.   The city probably had to twist her arm just to provide seat belts and mirrors.

            Although airbags might not be enough to ensure Geppetto’s safety.  Perhaps a roll-bar too?  Maybe nearly emptying the gas tank and chaining the doors shut would better suit him.  You know, like cars in demolition derbies.  And for those of you who don’t know what demolition derbies are, well my friends, you are missing out.