Thursday morning, at the height of rush hour, two cabdrivers apparently argued heatedly with each other — possibly over a poached fare — in front of Union Station. Witnesses say one driver started to get out of his cab when it suddenly accelerated in reverse, crossed three lanes of traffic and slammed into a light pole. Two pedestrians waiting at the Riverside Plaza crosswalk and the cabdriver were injured. Fortunately, nobody died.
Cabbies don’t hold a monopoly on bad driving. But it’s a safe bet that a lot of people heard about this accident and thought, well, no surprise.
There are a lot of good, careful cabdrivers on Chicago streets. And there are some who scare the wits out of you.
Everybody who uses cabs can do something to make sure bad drivers are weeded out. Every cab passenger is the equivalent of a back-seat cop on the beat. If you encounter a dangerous driver, do something about it. File a complaint. The city says it takes them very seriously and will respond to you within 48 hours.
All the information you need should be in plain sight. The city requires that the driver’s picture identification be posted in the cab. The cab medallion number can be found in several places — the rear of the front seat, the license plate, both rear door panels, the right rear of the vehicle and the left front of the hood. Complaints can be filed online at the Department of Consumer Services or called in to the city’s complaint service hot line, 311. Prepare to be as specific as possible about what happened.
Last year the city received 11,227 complaints directed at drivers of Chicago’s 6,900 registered taxis — a pretty steep jump from complaints in the two previous years. As a result, 44 drivers lost their cab licenses and 163 were suspended.
In the first four months of this year, 3,041 cab complaints resulted in 12 revocations and 228 suspensions. (The city also receives many compliments about drivers. You can do that too.)
Don’t wait for an accident. Report bad behavior or risky driving before someone winds up in the hospital.
