May 14, 2008
F-Bombs Cause F-ines for Cabbies
Cursing on the job is a hazard for not just TV newscasters. One cabbie was fined for his swears at another cabbie!
The Post reports that Zbigniew Sobczak got hit with a $1,000 fine after his run-in with fellow hack Malik Rizwan. Sobczak allegedly cut off Rizwan, who honked for 10 seconds, and then got out of his cab, yelling, "What the f---? You have problem? Why you beeping?" Rizwan responded with "You f---! You go in your car."
But the best part of the article might be: "Neither of the drivers had passengers in their cabs, freeing them up to follow each other around and get into two more confrontations."
Though an administrative law judge ruled Sobczak should be fined $350, Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus asked the fine go to the max, "The time for more civilized drivers has come, as the industry has been radically transformed for the better since the 1980s."
There was a British study that found workplace morale was boosted with workplace swearing. However, some courts have found swearing in the workplace can be construed as harassment.
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If every cabbie got fined 1 grand for swearing therew would be no cabbies. hell, even a buck a swear word would do em in.
There's no passengers present so who cares? If they want to swear, let them swear.
Even if there were passengers, who's going to be offended? What year is this, 19-dickety-2?
(The dickety line is just as relevent here as it is in the other post today, give me a break.)
What about blasphemy? Shouldn't they be fined for that as well?
I tip better when my cabbie gets into a heated dispute and curses. My handy "Cynic's Handbook of Urban Ettiquette" states that "one should tip his/her cabbie $1 for every utterance of the word 'fuck',$2 for 'cunt',25 cents for 'asshole', or any other lesser swear word, and up to $500 for a streetfight that results in injury, great bodily harm, or death." This rule applies to any cab and without any surcharge for a medallion cab.
Fuck is the first word a lot of these people learn when they first arrive on our shores. Why fine them for speaking English?
I usually tell cabbies to road rage on their own time when they get into altercations with other cabs or motorists. The last thing I want is for a cut off to escalate into an accident or police situation while I'm trying to get someplace.