Taxi drivers share stories about times they were told to 'follow that car!'

A common trope in movies is for someone to hail a cab (something people did in the olden days before Uber and Lyft), jump in and tell the driver "follow that car!" In the movie, the cab driver is almost always willing to break every possible traffic law and risk losing their license, just to indulge a passenger's need for a car chase. It's great cinema. It also apparently happens in real life, sometimes. Someone recently asked Taxi drivers of Reddit to share their stories of a passenger saying "follow that car!"

Here's 13 that could be straight out of a movie:

1.) From Populistless:

I'm actually a taxi driver (bike taxi/pedicab). I was hanging out a corner when a coworker of mine got a ride across the intersection.

Suddenly a guy walks up to me and tells me to "follow that cab, but keep a distance". This guy looked current or ex military: demeanor, haircut, attitude... has one of those earbuds like the agents from the Matrix. Exuded the vibe of being very professional/competent and not giving a fuck at the same time.

So I was born for this moment. I read all the Tom Clancy books as a kid, all the books about spycraft during WWII and the cold war, every spy movie ever made, etc. I kept about 100 yards distance and then would accelerate when they went around a curve anytime they were near a light or intersection (I have all the lights memorized) to ensure we would make the same light but a little later than they did. At one point a car pulls up alongside and another guy switches places with the original guy and we keep going. After about 12 blocks the pedicab pulls over ahead of us and the guy tells me to pull over. Hands me $20 for a $12 ride, although I would have done it for free just to live my 9 year old fantasy.

Probably just local cops, but I can dream