Bad Taxi Drivers

So Patrick Kane was arrested for beating up a taxi driver who refused to give him 20 cents in change. He and his cousin apparently then took the money they had given the driver.

This reminds me of an incident that happened to me during my bachelor party weekend in Boston. My buddies and I took a cab from the hotel to a local...ahem...establishment, but quickly realized the guy was driving in figure-eights. We asked him a couple of times what he was doing, to which we only got mumbles. Finally my buddy Bryan got fed up and told the driver to stop right effing now, and as we got out and Bryan paid the fare, he told the driver to give him every last penny in change for his $10. If that driver had tried to stiff him 20 cents, it would have ended very badly. There is nothing like being in a taxi and realizing that the person you are trusting to navigate a strange city for you is in fact stealing money from your pocket. It's an uncomfortable situation to have to ask the cabbie why you recognize the street he's on-even moreso when you KNOW you're being taken, and have to decide what to do about it. Cab drivers who pull this shit deserve to get beat up.

I'm tempted to think that's what happened with Kane. I seriously doubt Kane was living out some Grand Theft Auto fantasy by beating up a cab driver and taking his fare away just for the hell of it. I'll hold off on passing judgement until we hear his side of the story.

Then again, in my situation, we probably got what we deserved for not friggin WALKING. It was Boston, after all.