You learn a lot about a city by watching how its taxis work. New York: annoying but efficient. Chicago: dirty and surly. Paris: clean but impossible to find when you need one.

San Francisco Airport: maniacs.

Nowhere I travel do they have a rule like the one in San Francisco, where “turning a short” is the excuse used by cab drivers to find their inner Schumacher. If you are in a cab coming out of SFO that is doing 90 miles per hour, it’s because the driver is attempting to get you to your destination and return to the airport in less than 30 minutes. Because if they’re back in less than 30 minutes they get to jump the queue and pick up another fare immediately. Maybe someday the Freakonomics guys can use this to explain why more cabbies die in accidents in San Francisco than anywhere else

SFO to downtown and back in 30 minutes is not humanly possible if you drive anywhere even close to the speed limit. We are talking some serious velocity requirements.

The good news is that when it is 1:30am according to your body clock, there is nothing like being in a cab doing 90++ weaving through traffic on the 101 to keep you awake.