On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:58:22 -0400, Jim Charter wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
>> Hey, that reminds me - how long you been teaching the class you teach?
> 
> A little over a year ago I began teaching at the Taxi Institute.  I
> began teaching a defensive driving course there.  Really the standard
> thing but it is an ongoing requirement for cab drivers to take it in
> order to keep their hack license current, so most of the attendees are
> in fact cab drivers.  I also began teaching a referesher course that
> drivers are required to take on the first year anniversary of their
> license.  In May of this year I began teaching the Initial Training for
> the hack license.  I wasn't qualified to teach that one until I had
> sufficient time in driving.  And that is the course that I was writing
> about.

Cool, it's amazing the skills and things people who I meet online have or 
do. :-)  What sort of defensive driving techniques are employed by hacks 
in NYC?  I've always found that sort of thing interesting (my dad taught 
me to drive in MN, and he was always teaching me defensive techniques).  
I understand there's a fairly common courtesy amongst cabbies in NYC 
(well, everywhere, really, but NYC cabbies are IMHO the best around; the 
ones in San Francisco that I've had didn't even know how to get to where 
they were driving me; the one I had in Atlanta took advantage of my rush 
to the airport and gave himself a 100% tip for the ride - I hated having 
to pay with a credit card).

In fact, the only other place I've ridden in a cab that I would compare 
to NYC is in the UK (down near Hastings - haven't done a London cab ride 
yet), and I know the cabs there have a steering system that turns both 
the front and the back wheels (I forget what it's called now - my wife 
says it's called a "independent double wishbone suspension", capable of 
doing a U-turn in 25 feet, mandated by the public carriage office) so the 
cabs are REALLY maneuverable.  Anything like that employed on the cabs 
there?  (I've not noticed it, but it's kinda hard while in the cab to see 
what the wheels are doing, obviously)

>> We've taken to watching "Cash Cab" on Discovery and have often wondered
>> if Ben (the host of the show) is actually a licensed cab driver.
> 
> Pretty safe assumption.

I thought that was probably the case; they show what looks like his 
license at the beginning of the show, but I keep forgetting to pause and 
have a closer look to see how real it looks.  Usually there are things 
that make it clear it's not real, since he's actually driving around 
Broadway.  The cab itself is indistinguishable to my eye from any of the 
other yellow minivan cabs there.

>   His bio
>> says he used to be a limo driver (in NYC, IIRC), but we don't know if
>> that would be relevant experience.
> 
> A hack license allows you to drive limo, technically FHV (for hire
> vehicle) but a FHV license is not enough to drive 'yellows'

Interesting, didn't know that.  I have seen FHVs at JFK, drivers asking 
people waiting for the yellows charging a flat rate to get into town 
(seems to me it was usually about $60-$75 the most recent time I was 
there).  I always wondered if those were legal or if there was some way 
to tell whether they were or not.  They seemed to take people out of the 
cab load/unload area there at the airport up into a nearby parking lot.  
I did that once, then instead would arrange a ride at the FHV counter 
inside the terminal.

>> The show credits the NYC Taxi Commission (they do use the correct name,
>> of course - I just can't remember it).
>> 
>> 
> http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/home/home.shtml

That'd be the one, of course. :-)  Thanks for the info - always enjoyed 
reading your stories about some of the fares you've had.

Jim

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