Tested

Last night I was severely tested by the combination of gridlocked traffic and an irritating passenger. During peak hour I became totally snookered attempting to access the Harbour Bridge. To make matters worse my passenger had the flu.

It was early in the evening when a thirty-something businesswoman climbed into the back seat. At the time I had my window open as the temperature was still mild, though not cold. Well, not cold for me, at least.

However she was obviously under dressed and proceeded to register her displeasure at my open window by persistently coughing every minute, or every metre. Just what you need when stuck in heavy traffic.

Now you would think that going to work with the flu would mean carrying an overcoat or scarf or hat, no? No. My passenger wore a skirt, blouse and jacket, the standard businesswoman’s ensemble, though without protective accessories.

Yet she expected me to close up the cab because she was coughing, coughing in a confined space. Not on your life, I reasoned, especially whilst travelling at one metre per minute. Only upon reaching 40kph did I reduce the window opening by eighty percent.

Finally, free of the traffic jam I couldn’t ignore her coughing any longer and said, “Sounds like you need a few days in bed.” “Oh, I did that on the weekend,” she chortled, “but the air conditioning at work makes it worse.” “Maybe then you should stay away from the office,” I suggested. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, “because this flu is everywhere.”

This was rubbish. If there was a flu epidemic, then as a cabbie, I’d know about it. “Well, I hope I don’t get it,” I told her, stating the bleeding obvious. “Then you just keep that window open,” she fired back. That was the end of our exchange.

At which point I heard her rummaging around and the unmistakable sound of a lozenge tin being opened, then snapped closed. That was the end of her coughing.

If only I'd challenged her right from the start.

Comments

[Goldstein]

Who's a grumpy old cabbie? ;-)

Maybe you need to put on a gauze mask like they wear in Tokyo? Or lease one of those cabs with the driver cut off from the passengers by a perspex screen?

At least she was in the back seat, and not sitting next to you.. Hopefully, any of the infectious particles coughed up was diverted by the open window.

I always made it a ritual to clean my hands before touching my face or eating, while driving a cab -I'd pull up at a gas station and get out my Dettol and give my hands a good wash, and rinse in running water..

Worked for me..

[Kit]

I once had a driving instructor that was non-stop coughing. She then told me towards the end of the lesson she had hooping cough. Are you kidding? I had to cancel seeing my friends with children, just in case, for the next week or so. Didn't get it but boy, I was mad.

The Dettol hand sanitiser works without water is great for when there is nowhere to wash your hands, Goldstein. I keep a little bottle in my purse all the time. Works a treat.

[Goldstein]

Thanks for the heads up on the Dettol hand sanitiser, Kit !

[adrian]

True enough, Goldstein, an old grump. Kit, will consider Dettol along wiht face mask and gloves.

[Goldstein]

Ha ! That would be a good look -Obsessive Compulsive Cablog -Adrian wearing the mask, Dettol handwipes on the dash, latex gloves when handling the money..

Seriously, though, give me a wheezing passenger any day rather than an incontinent psychotic who hasn't bathed for three weeks.. That passenger scarred my mind (and the back seat) for life..

[adrian]

...incontinent psychotic! (shudder)

[kae]

Kit
Whooping cough is more common in adults than you would imagine.
My GP thought I may have had it after I'd had a bout of the flu in the 80s. (Whooping cough, post-infection irritation or asthma was the verdict. In hindsight and after developments in the 90s it was probably asthma.)
Generally children who are vaccinated will not get whooping cough.
I have had many adult friends who have had whooping cough.
Not nice.

[Cathy]

Our Australian, Family Company makes the perfect product for all you 'Germ Freaks', (me included!)
It's an ALCOHOL-FREE Antibacterial, Instant Hand Sanitiser called 'HANDS FIRST'. Like your Mum used to say before you put anything in your mouth -'have you washed your hands first'?
It is non-flammable, so it is safe to carry in your vehicles. Alcohol based Sanitisers have to be kept below 25C-30C, and who's car is below that temp in summer? It does not sting or smell. It is safe to use on sensitive skin and it continues to work on your hands for a few hours after the initial application. So do your self a favour and check out our Website www.handsfirst.com.au It comes in a unique metered foaming pump and will give you over 120 applications per 50mls, compared to the alcohol gels which will only give you 50 if you are lucky.