Every now and then I get a passenger who is also a driver. One such occasion, I met up with a fellow driver who asked me if I had any rude passengers or nightmare stories. Since I was rarely new at this, I told him no and asked if he had. He shared two stories that were funny and yet showed how many think that getting into your car means they can act however they want.
One passenger he picked up immediately got on a business call. As the ride progressed, Jim (my passenger and fellow driver) said he felt something touch his arm. When he turned to see what is was, he found a foot on the center console. The passenger had taken off his shoe and felt obliged put it anywhere he wanted. Jim told him that it was not okay and asked him to please remove his foot. With barely a pause in his business call, the passenger told him to “Shut the f**k up and just drive.” In response to this, he drove to the nearest open curb space, cancelled the ride and told his passenger the ride was over.
This next story story was similar where Jim picked up a woman who again was on her phone. Soon after pick up, she tossed a $20 bill at him and told him to go to Starbucks and get her a coffee. He let her know that he was not her personal assistant, took her to Starbucks, handed her the money back saying, if she wanted coffee, she would need to get it herself. He drove her the the first Star ucks he could find ans once she exited the vehicle with all her belongings, he cancelled the ride and left. It seems she tried to force him to still get her coffee by arguing with him on the way.
On rare occasions, people get in a Lyft or Uber and feel like you are there to service them. The driver’s job is to pick you up and get you to your destination safely. We have the authority to end a ride at anytime and report rude behavior. This can result in a passenger’s account being deactivated. Just goes to show, privilege does not get you everything.
My Ride 'N Die 