There are a number of things in the world I don't and will probably never understand - how to calculate the current in a complex series + parallel circuit, rubik's cubes above 3x3, girls, and taxi drivers who speed.
(No i'm not talking about the first 3 in this post, just the last one)
I've been taking cabs quite abit since army, because I have adopted a personal and popular philosophy that 'Time is money'. Thus, since army, I've begun taking cabs when I feel like I want to save that extra 20 mins or more in travelling time.
On paper, it seems ridiculous - to spend money just to save such a small amount of time?! But come on, once time is gone, it never comes back. There are only 24 hours a day (which I feel is too little) and every second has to be treasured (remember my Snowball Time Effect theory?)
Plus, it seems that cabbing is more economical than driving (I may be wrong, but it seems to be? It'll take a couple of years to break even for the cost of your car + COE, not including fuel, car maintenance, etc.)
ANYWAY, that totally wasn't the point of this entry. My question is:
Why do taxi drivers bother speeding?
Recently when I take my cabs at night, and the traffic is more favourable, my taxi drivers have been speeding. I will define speeding as going above 90 (that's the speed limit on an expressway btw, it's 80 on normal roads and 70 on some. don't know if it goes lower)
And the cabs I've been in have frequently stayed at 100km/h-ish as long as they can - the one I just took went up to 110, and was trying to push 120! (but traffic prevented him from doing so)
Now, this is NOT a complain, I LOVE it when they speed because this gets me home quicker and hence makes my taxi ride more worth it. Yes I know that it's dangerous and all but.. HECK LA. haha. If you're meant to die you're meant to die. Just don't take unnecessary risk like try to dangle yourself out of the building. But if my cabby wants to set a new speed record I'm not going to stop him with 'Uncle please slow down!!' and watch him drop to 50 for the rest of the journey.
I'm not a very stingy person but if I was working as taxi driver, I would just drive at a NORMAL pace? I mean, I do get paid less if i drove quicker, so why would I want to reduce my earnings? Eh, taxi driver not easy leh, working hours are long and hard and you don't exactly get alot of money. Of course I'm not saying I will go one big round to scam people... I just won't bother to drive FASTER to LOWER my earnings!
There is no incentive to drive quicker besides maybe having the adrenaline of speeding?
Heck, my drivers even OVERTAKE other cars when they are speeding. That's just ridiculously awesome!? I mean, maybe a nice cabby would just accelerate more when the road is clear and maybe push 90, 100km/h. However, if traffic prevents him from reaching those speeds, I'll be totally fine if he stays at 70-80 and stays behind them. Ok fine, I may tsk abit in annoyance at the cars blocking us but unless they're crawling at 40-50 or something, I wouldn't really fault my cabby for not overtaking.
But mine, when he sees cars in front, he will actually weave around them and maintain his high speed. For what??
AND, don't forget that not only do they NOT gain from speeding, they may even LOSE something in terms of a fine!! Speeding can get fined one!
So to sum up, when cabbies speed they
1) Lower their own earnings
2) Risk a hefty fine
Why do they still do it? I'm befuddled. Is there such a word? Befuddled. CONFUSED. CLUELESS.
Anyway, I always ask these speedy drivers to keep the change when I pay them (about 50 cents la I'm not that rich or crazy enough to like give them 50 dollar note for a $10+ journey) in recognition of their effort and risk and awesomeness. You should too! (if you are not some anti-speeding advocate, that is)
