Why do people sit in the back of taxis when the passenger seat is free?

Dudess

I think if I were a taxi driver, I'd be pissed off. Do they stink or something?

Silverfish

If I'm going somewhere on my own I just feel safer in the back.

Huggles

Dudess wrote:

I think if I were a taxi driver, I'd be pissed off. Do I stink or something?

I always sit in the back. It seems a bit too familiar to sit beside the driver...

Also sometimes they have their radios attached under the glove box on passenger side and you bang your knees :mad:

robinph

Depends which side of the road I get picked up on mostly, or if I have a bag with me it's just quicker to jump in the back than faff about sticking stuff in the boot.

blow69

Um because i don't want to make unnecessary small talk with the taxi driver.If you start talking to them, it's hard to shut them up!!!

Ruu_Old

Any taxi I have ever been in, the driver has stuff piled on the passenger seat. If I have bags or luggage or whatever else I'd rather a bit of room in the back myself.

randylonghorn

blow69 wrote:

Um because i don't want to make unnecessary small talk with the taxi driver.If you start talking to them, it's hard to shut them up!!!

Believe me, you don't have to start with most of them ... :rolleyes:

Actually, I normally hop into the front, but I've often regretted it for just that reason.

In fairness, I've had some very interesting chats with some drivers as well ... but there are a fair few who seem to feel that having captured you, this is their opportunity to convert you to their way of thinking on whatever their issue of the day happens to be!

mikemac

I used to sit in the front but once a lady taxi driver had locked the front door when I tried to open it. Was told to sit in the back for security reasons and that's fine.

Always sit in the back now

Hermione*

I always sit in the back seat. Very often, when I get a taxi, I'm either not in the mood to answer lots of questions about myself or I have lots of bags and it's just easier to sit in the back where there's room for the bags and me.

Owen

Well, I'm paying the guy to drive me, he's the chauffeur, so I sit in the back. It saves on awkward conversation too.

Terry

Local hackneys I sit in the front because I have gotten to know most of the drivers over the years.

Taxis, I sit in the back seat.

iguana

There were a number of rapes reported in the UK where taxi drivers carrying women passengers drove into a side road and drove the passenger side of the car right up to the wall so the woman couldn't get out. Many woman's magazines ran reports on this so that could explain why a woman might not sit in front.

DonkeyStyle \o/

robinph wrote:

Depends which side of the road I get picked up on mostly

Yeah same here.

randylonghorn wrote:

In fairness, I've had some very interesting chats with some drivers as well ... but there are a fair few who seem to feel that having captured you, this is their opportunity to convert you to their way of thinking on whatever their issue of the day happens to be!

Yeah spot on.
After a long day of work you just want to get home, not enter a heated debate with some ranting stranger... generally I just agree with whatever their position is and take the wind out of their sails... and so as not to upset this potential nutcase I'm gonna be stuck with for the next 15/20 minutes.
Really, some of them are so passionate/angry/preachy about the subject that they don't seem open to any other point of view anyway.
"Why yes random cabbie, I'd love to play devils advocate and disagree with you about deregulation, but I really don't know anything about it and couldn't give a shít."

Dudess

Iguana, I see what you mean, but I must say: in twelve years of getting taxis, I've never encountered any dodginess. Maybe it's because I'm usually pissed and and therefore more relaxed.

biko

If I sit in the front I'd look like the help

"Home James, and be swift about it"!

PeakOutput

i sit in the front if i wana chat if im locked and just wana get home ill sit in the back

Kevster

I always sit in the front because I think it'd be rude to sit in the back. That's just me though. I don't care at all if other people prefer to sit in the back.

I invariably talk to the driver about traffic, football, or weather; but it's no worry to me if we both just sit there not speaking a single word.

Anto McC

blow69 wrote:

Um because i don't want to make unnecessary small talk with the taxi driver.If you start talking to them, it's hard to shut them up!!!

Bloody foreigners blah blah blah...........and don't even get me started on the government,shower of crooks blah blah blah............Deregulation is killing me,i've had to sell one of me houses in Spain blah blah blah...................my aulfella used to take me to watch Rovers up in Milltown when i was small blah blah blah.

Anto McC

Sorry to double post but is the tash part of the criteria for being a taxi driver too? As well as the blantant rasicm,that is.

jesus_thats_gre

Would generally sit in the front and yap away to them - they are only being ****ing friendly like.

_blank_

Anto McC wrote:

my aulfella used to take me to watch Rovers up in Milltown when i was small blah blah blah.

Add to this "Ah, shure I knew Ollie well, took him loadsa places in me taxi I did"

Anto McC

I remember talking about this on a trip back from Belfast, the fun we had

heyjude

You're far safer in the back. Taxi drivers are among the worst drivers on the roads, with hackney drivers being even worse still.

So if I have to take a taxi, I want the safety of the back seat, also its less distracting for the driver.

_blank_

Hmm.

I always go for the front seat.

Unless I'm with the lady, then I tell her to sit in the front, so she gets to pay

MementoMori

I sit in the back cos tis safer. Sit in the front with a driver you don't know. Don't think so.

jesus_thats_gre

heyjude wrote:

You're far safer in the back. Taxi drivers are among the worst drivers on the roads, with hackney drivers being even worse still.

So if I have to take a taxi, I want the safety of the back seat, also its less distracting for the driver.

Any stats or proof to back this up? I would be pretty confident that in relation to the number of miles they do, they are probably in less accidents per mile than an average road user.

Thrill

I never knew there was a "thing" about the front seat of a taxi. I've always hopped into the front seat whether it was a taxi or cab.

I hope this wont make me a bit hesitant in doing so from now on.

I prefer a chatty driver to a silent one myself. I find the journey seems to go by quicker.

aequinoctium

makes you feel more important

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I generally hop in the front, unless there's a group of us, in which case I wanna be in the back where it's easier to chat to your friends.

MooseJam

because you don't talk to the help

Piste

I never really thought about it...it just seems natural to sit in the back I guess! I still talk to the Taxi driver though.

the_syco

Usually the front. Habit, I suppose. If I don't want to talk, the headphones stay on. As for their views, I usually don't talk, in case they throw me out for wanting to Napalm their county:D

Also, if its a cold dark winters day, I'm usually wearing a trechcoat and a balaclava head warmer.

TBH, though, some of the lads just want a chat. No probs, usually, and it helps to pass the time. Esp when I'm drunk, and feel like I'm going to puke any second now...:rolleyes::(:D:eek:

iguana

Dudess wrote:

Iguana, I see what you mean, but I must say: in twelve years of getting taxis, I've never encountered any dodginess. Maybe it's because I'm usually pissed and and therefore more relaxed.

It's a very big deal in the UK. I think there are something like 11 rapes or sexual assaults reported a month in London by taxi drivers. Usually by drivers of unlicensed mini-cabs. I believe it was about 18 a month before the campaigns started.

And it's normally women who are drunk who are preyed upon.

eta; 10 a month. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/3929.aspx

TFL wrote:

In the year leading up to October 2002 before 'Know what you're getting into' launched, 212 (18 a month) women were sexually assaulted by illegal cab drivers - 54 of these women were raped
# Impact of the 'Know what you're getting into' campaign on attacks:
- In the first 12 months of the campaign minicab related sexual assaults declined by 27 per cent and rapes by 22 per cent to 155 sexual assaults (42 of which were rapes)
- In the second year of activity minicab related sexual assaults fell to 140 (32 of which were rapes). This signified a 34-per-cent fall in the number of offences and a 41-per-cent fall in number of rapes during the first two years of the campaign
- In the third year of activity sexual assaults have fallen to 10 a month

invincibleirish

i sit in the front,tell him where i want go....wait a few seconds......then i ask "busy out tonite" or variant on the theme, the reply is generally yeah its busy town/nah towns dead tonite/or i just started in town tonite,i just go thru the motions then of taxi talk,if your with someone and theyre in the back sometimes i try and include them in the conversation but someone in the back cant hear very well so its back to you just chatting to driver,doesnt matter if its GF,friend etc.!

Wishbone Ash

Usually in the back because it feels more 'normal' and it seems safer. (I don't rate their driving very much). Sitting up front just doesn't seem right. I'd only do it if there were four of us.

I hopped in the rear of a taxi in Letterkenny one time and the driver said "sit in the front like everyone else - you're not in Dublin!" :eek:

Slutmonkey57b

I always assumed it would be rude to sit in the front. Taxi drivers might me chatty, they might not, but who's to say they want some drunk stranger sitting right next to them in the front?

Also Starring LeVar Burton

invincibleirish wrote:

i sit in the front,tell him where i want go....wait a few seconds......then i ask "busy out tonite" or variant on the theme, the reply is generally yeah its busy town/nah towns dead tonite/or i just started in town tonite,i just go thru the motions then of taxi talk,if your with someone and theyre in the back sometimes i try and include them in the conversation but someone in the back cant hear very well so its back to you just chatting to driver,doesnt matter if its GF,friend etc.!

That's pretty much the same with myself. Try to keep the conversation simple and it will all be alright.

intheknow

As a Taxi Driver its all the one to me, I generally know if they want to chat. If the dont I respect that too. Had a girl once who was "chatting" away on her phone from town to Howth..Then it rang . I felt her pain as she knew, that I knew, she had been talking to a dead phone all the time.. She did not even wait for her change...Whooosh !

Nehpets

ned78 wrote:

Well, I'm paying the guy to drive me, he's the chauffeur, so I sit in the back. It saves on awkward conversation too.

Exactly.

the boss of me

As a taxi driver I would much prefer pasengers to sit in the back. It is the norm in most major cities, London, Paris, New York eg. TBH most passengers are very boring and sometimes downright irritating. Passengers personal hygiene is not always what it should be and even if you have showered recently, the smell off you when you have a bellyful of beer and a kebab is disgusting.
Also if you have to engage the driver in conversation please try and say something interesting. I must hear " ye busy tonigh' bud? "at least 50 times a week !!
Also, why when I pick up couples, why does one get in the front and one in the back ? Then they have a conversation shouting from one end of the car to the other. The hearing is almost gone in my left ear cos of this.
My advice is get in the back, state your destination clearly and shut the hell up !!

mikemac

intheknow wrote:

As a Taxi Driver its all the one to me, I generally know if they want to chat. If the dont I respect that too. Had a girl once who was "chatting" away on her phone from town to Howth..Then it rang . I felt her pain as she knew, that I knew, she had been talking to a dead phone all the time.. She did not even wait for her change...Whooosh !

Call waiting?

Terrontress

As a taxi driver I would much prefer pasengers to sit in the back. It is the norm in most major cities, London, Paris, New York eg. TBH most passengers are very boring and sometimes downright irritating. Passengers personal hygiene is not always what it should be and even if you have showered recently, the smell off you when you have a bellyful of beer and a kebab is disgusting.
Also if you have to engage the driver in conversation please try and say something interesting. I must hear " ye busy tonigh' bud? "at least 50 times a week !!
Also, why when I pick up couples, why does one get in the front and one in the back ? Then they have a conversation shouting from one end of the car to the other. The hearing is almost gone in my left ear cos of this.
My advice is get in the back, state your destination clearly and shut the hell up !!

That's hardly fair about the people who pay your wages, is it?

For the most part taxi drivers are interesting and enjoy a good chat. They've usually heard good jokes and stories in their day's work and listening to Newstalk 106 all day. I always sit in the back though as I don't want to intrude on the driver's personal space. The taxi is like his office so there should be a separation between my zone and his. I try to sit behind the passenger seat to get a good line of sight. And I usually start with "are you busy" or else "been on long?". To begin with the only thing I have in common with the guy is that he is driving a taxi and I am a customer. I can't start asking him about his wife and kids, can I?

DonkeyStyle \o/

the boss of me wrote:

Also if you have to engage the driver in conversation please try and say something interesting. I must hear " ye busy tonigh' bud? "at least 50 times a week !!

In fairness taxi drivers are generally pretty bad for the tiresome one-liners themselves.
There's always that twilight period of silence after you've stated your destination... then it comes, without fail... "Were ye' out tonight?"
I'm sure the timing is the same for "Ye' busy tonight?".
Someone has to break the silence, one reassuring the other that they're not a weird psycho.
Personally, once I've had the 15 seconds of meaningless chitchat and the driver is happy enough to leave me alone, then we're all good and I know the driver is sane... enjoy the silence, put on the radio, do whatever you want.
It's an unwritten protocol I think.

Actually I'm pretty sure I've had a conversation like this with a random taxi driver before... the one I was talking to said he was pretty wary of nutcase passengers and liked to engage them in a bit of chat to suss them out.

I don't like being asked if I was out on the piss though... it seems too close to "Are ye locked? Would ye notice if I took the scenic route?"

Archeron

I spent a bit of time travelling across India by train, so my tendency would be to sit on the roof.

nice1franko

Think yer being a bit sensitive missus dudess.

Sit wherever ye want (usually whichever door is closest or the back if you have stuff with you)!

It's public transport. If you got on a bus would you feel you had to sit up beside the driver?

Degsy

Taxi drivers should wear caps and hold the door open for ya when you're getting in and out.Oh yeah and gloves,they should wear gloves..and wash themselves.

Mrs_Doyle

I used to sit in the passenger seat when I was younger, about 17/18. When my mam saw me getting out of a taxi, via the passenger door, she went nuts.

She said it wasn't safe for a young girl to sit so close to a total stranger, and told me if a TAXI man was ever going to try something funny I'd have a much better chance of escaping from the back seat.

I just took her word for it and opted not to sit in the passenger seat from then on.

Nevyn

From the point of view of saftey in a car crah or personal safety you are better off sitting in the back.

petes

Sit in the front. I talk more shite than they do when I'm pissed. I'd say a few of them were glad to see the back of me.

Never even crossed my mind to get in the back.

seamus

I prefer to sit in the back, but I've no problem sitting in the front when the taxi's full.

I don't think it's rude not to - you don't know the guy, and he's providing a public service. Being polite consists of saying Hi, giving him money and saying thanks. That's about it. You're not expected to sit beside a bus driver and talk to him, so why would you do the same with a taxi driver? He's doing his job, let him get on with it.

Crucifix

I generally sit in the back. Better for personal space (mine and the driver's).
Also I don't like small talk. Then again, i'd prefer to chat about the weather/traffic/Johnny Foreigner than have another taxi driver regale me with tales of smuggling drugs into the country, passengers paying him in cocaine, and then asking me where he could score some drugs around here.