Get off the Phone and Watch the Road!

Today I thought I'd find out how many people feel the way that I do about cab drivers and cell phones. First though, as always, a little background.

Wisconsin does not have a law banning drivers from talking on the phone while driving. However, many people will not use the phone while driving because they feel that they're not able to give their full attention to the road and therefore will pull over to make or answer a call, or just not answer the phone at all. I have noticed a very high percentage of cab drivers here in Milwaukee though who spend every possible second on their phones. Almost 5 years ago I was left off a block or so away from my home because the driver was on his phone and wasn't paying attention to street signs. He drove off before I had a chance to find out where I was, and I was completely unaware of where I was in a fairly poor neighborhood after dark. I was fortunate though that someone happened to come by right then with her son. She told me where I was and offered to walk with me back home so I wouldn't be walking alone. I was really bothered by this situation, and since that time I've been extremely uncomfortable when drivers are on their phones while I'm in their cabs. I have friends who talk on their phones too, but I don't have a problem with that because I know them, and know that they're safe drivers. I know nothing about these cab drivers. Then, we'll add in the fact that many times I have had to give personal information to the driver before we start moving. It's not so bad now since they changed the transit ID numbers to something other than our social security numbers, but for several years I had to give my SS number, which could have been heard by anyone on the phone. Finally, we have many drivers who don't speak English as their first language, and their conversations happen in their native language. At times, from the tone of the driver's voice, and from some familiar words I can make out, it sounds like the driver is either complaining about having to drive a blind passenger, or else talking about where they're going, so on and so forth. I feel that I have just as much right to ride in the cabs as anyone else, and that I have the right to get from point A to point B safely. And now, it's time to let me know what you think.



[Poll #1033003]

GRRRRR!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone. I'm posting to kill time while I sit on hold. I'm trying to pay a bill, and the company is jerking me all over the place. I've already talked to three different people in three different departments, and they're making me wait on hold for a fourth person in yet another department. For the sake of privacy or whatever, I will not post the name of this company, however if you look at my MSN name you'll figure it out easily enough. What really sucks about this whole thing is that I signed up not only for their online bill pay service, but also for automatic bill pay so the money should have already been taken from my account. It hasn't, and I can't even log onto the web site because I don't have the right kind of email address. It's really strange, not to mention frustrating. I tried calling this place yesterday too. I was on hold for about 40 minutes and then I got a recording stating that there were problems on the line and my call was going to be disconnected. In reality, they closed, so dumped anyone who was still on hold. I've always had issues with this company, but getting jerked around like this and bounced from person to person is ridiculous.

Someone picked up, and I explained the situation to her, and there's a possibility that she might have to transfer me yet again!

And yes, I am now talking to person number 5. The good thing is that it looks like she might be the one who's going to get things sort of straightened out. I'm gone!