Passenger turns taxi ride into a nightmare, pulls a machete on the driver all because he didn’t change the music

A Russian taxi driver recently had one of the worst shifts imaginable when a passenger threatened him with a massive machete simply because she couldn’t stand the dance music blaring in his cab. This is absolutely terrifying, and it’s a top-tier example of customer service gone wildly wrong.

The shocking incident, which took place in Samara City, Russia, was all caught on the in-cab camera. Footage shows the passenger, a woman believed to be in her fifties, lounging in the back seat before she started demanding a total change in the soundtrack of her journey. She wasn’t just asking nicely, either. She wanted him to switch to “chanson” songs, a genre known for its heavy lyrics and historical association with blatnaya pesnya, or criminal underworld songs.

Before she pulled the weapon, the woman rummaged through her bag. She then yanked out a huge machete and thrust the lethal blade between the front seats, right near the driver’s face. You can see the driver immediately sway to the side in a moment of pure panic, desperately trying to keep away from the sharp edge, per The Sun.

A woman wanted the music off so badly that she threatened a man with a blade

The driver, who must have been petrified, tried to de-escalate the situation immediately. He winced and edged away as he drove the taxi, stuttering, “I understand, I understand. I’ll turn it off.”

But his compliance wasn’t fast enough for the woman. She kept the machete pointed at him, demanding, “Couldn’t you understand the first time?” She made it crystal clear what he needed to do to survive the ride. She ordered him directly, “Turn on chanson. When you turn on [my favourite chanson], I’ll put [the machete] away.”

This is the kind of situation where you’re just hoping you make it home in one piece. The driver, in a desperate move, slipped off his seat belt, making it obvious he was ready to bail out of the moving car if the passenger tried anything else. He quickly switched the radio to the “chanson” music channel she demanded. At least he didn’t disappear.

Finally, after the music was changed, the passenger casually set the massive blade down. The terrified cabbie then nervously asked the woman, “Do you know where we’re going?” She replied with a bizarre destination, stating simply: “We’re going to the cemetery.”

Despite the woman’s horrifying display and onslaught of demands, the ride from hell ended without any further violence. After the music was changed, the driver dropped the woman off at the cemetery as requested. The things drivers and passengers deal with can be scary.

Law enforcement in Samara is now actively searching for the machete-wielding woman, who was wearing a headscarf during the ordeal. Interestingly, the driver himself has not made a formal complaint to the police, but officials are investigating anyway.