I was not quite sure if I should trust my eyes. Did I just see a cab make police car sounds? Did a cab just stop in the corner of 96th and Broadway. Did the driver and a passenger just abandon the car to run to the near supermarket? There was a seemingly abandoned yellow cab in the middle of Broadway. With the s off, it seemed like a regular New York taxi.
Until the two men came back. The short driver and the tall passenger both got in in the front. When the driver turned on the s, a red rotating police lit up on the dashboard. It was quickly turned off. The sign on top of the Taxi went on. 2*63 (altered for good reasons). The car is now on duty. Who knew that some of the Police cars in New York City look like regular cabs. I wonder who’s voice they use to remind passengers to buckle up?
Professor Dumbledore ?
Posted by: T on June 30, 2002 11:50 AMOnce, a long time ago, well, not that long ago, I was driving my car in Manhattan, with my girlfriend in the passenger seat. I had a 1996 Acura Integra GS-R (Red)...it was sweet. I was turning down a sidestreet, when I got totally cut off by some cab who jumped out of a parking space with no signal. I seriously had to jam on the brakes, sending my girlfriend hurdling forward. Luckily she was wearing her seatbelt. She sort of let out a loud "OOOWWWW!" and I went nuts. I am genetically predisposed to roadrage to begin with, plus I hate cab-drivers and the way they think they can just do anything on the road. I chased this fuck for 6 or so blocks through traffic, until I had the perfect chance to cut him off hard and jam on the brakes, sending him skidding out a bit. Then I took off with reckless abandon to prove, I guess, how fast my car was? Anyway, I sped away really fast, burning rubber all the way. The I made a right turn to head back where I was supposed to be going. The I saw the flashing lights, and was pulled over by the very same cabbie and his very angry partner. OOpps. Well, they came to the window and asked if I had been drinking. I explained angrily that I had not been drinking and that I was pissed off that they cut me off, and I was road-raging, etc. They looked up my registration and it turned out that when I got the car, a view months prior, the dealer had incorrectly suipplied the car color as blue for the registration. So he thinks the friggin car is stolen. I explained that it was obviosly a mistake, and it was beside the point anyway. The point was that he almost crashed into me. Anyway, they let me go, and I think they were a little embarassed.
That's when I learned about the elusive cop-cab.
Posted by: chris on July 1, 2002 11:21 AMWow, Chris, I sometimes think that this is your world and that we just live in it. The story is great. A real Chris New York story. I somehow never get into these charged situations. I seem to be too mellow for that. You on the other hand are a real part of the city. (You are born here, you are real...)
Posted by: witold on July 1, 2002 11:55 AM