A taxi copped a fine after I said I was late. Should I pay up?

Q: I caught a taxi and told the driver I was running late for an appointment. He made an illegal turn into a street to get me to my destination faster. We were stopped by traffic cops and he got a substantial fine. He suggested I pay more than the metered fare to contribute to the fine. What should I have done?

S.F., Northcote, Vic

Credit: Simon Letch

A: When you step into a taxi, you’re entering someone else’s property. This is where the taxi driver lives for the day, their little house on wheels, with their own personal decor and their favourite radio station and their unique smells – 50 per cent milky, 50 per cent meaty and 50 per cent chemical (taxis are the only environment on earth where you can have 150 per cent of smells). And because this is their little house on wheels, they make all the house rules. No smoking, no boozing, no swearing, no urinating, no sitting in the back with your feet on their shoulders, even though that’s how you enjoy travelling in your own little house on wheels when your partner is driving.

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They make all the driving decisions, too; if they choose to take a shortcut by driving off the edge of an overpass because your house is down there below, they can’t ask you afterwards to help pay for damage to their car and for reattaching the other half their head. A taxi ride is pricey enough as it is, so unless you grabbed the wheel yourself, Jason Statham-style, and forcefully made that illegal turn, the driver alone is responsible for all fines and infringements. You should’ve just thanked him for his thoughtfulness, paid the metered fare, maybe added a tip, then stepped out of his little house on wheels and taken a big breath of fresh air – because you hadn’t taken one since you got in.

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