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A Case for Cabbie Courtesy Counseling
I'VE NEVER MET a Las Vegas cab driver I didn't like. I've ridden in a lot of our city's cabs through the years, first as a tourist, on business trips, then as a local going to and from the airport. I've found them all to be friendly, knowledgeable and honest. Dealing with them in traffic when I'm behind the wheel is a totally different scenario.
Memo to taxi drivers: CALM DOWN!
 I've been cut off, forced off roads and highways, passed like I was standing still, yelled at and received the single finger salute from and by cab drivers who drive like they're the only ones on the roads. It's not just annoying, it's unsafe. I even saw one large cabbie get out of his car one night to pick a fight with a man who was obeying the law and stopping at an exit to a parking lot to let another driver out. The taxi driver literally tried to reach in the other man's vehicle and grab the poor Samaritan. It caused a virtual stoppage of all traffic, then mayhem when movement started because all the other cabs jockeyed for position to get through the next intersection before the light changed. It was a wonder no one was hit.
OK, so traffic is getting worse around here, that's a fact. And the men and women who drive cabs make their living on the amount of fares they have and can get understandably frustrated when they are mired down in metro traffic muck. But please, it's gotten to the point of re-defined road rage. I don't even think they're raging, I think it's just business as usual. It's risky business, to be sure, especially for the innocent tourists and locals who drive defensively and calmly. The other thing I must say is driving a cab can obviously be stressful, monotonous, and downright dangerous at times. I must also acknowledge that there are always "bad apples" and I would hope there are many more safe cabbies than reckless ones, but sometimes I wonder.
Remember the old bumper sticker that read: "Drive Like Hell and You'll Get There Faster"? There might just be something to that after all. 
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