Amish Taxi Driving: When The Rules Get Bent – Or Broken
Haley Straw returns today with the third installment on what it’s like to be an Amish taxi driver. Here’s part one and part two if you missed them.
Where’s your favorite place to travel by car? For me, it might be to visit family, a thrift shop, hike, or even head to a place of amusement.
Most of us jump in without a second thought—but for the Amish, every trip matters. Their culture teaches that travel isn’t just about where you’re going, but why.
The Van Rider’s Handbook spells this out clearly: “There are reasons for which a motorized vehicle should not be hired.” In summary, the forbidden uses (by rule) are:
- Amusement / Entertainment trips — no going to theme parks, comedy shows, or motorized attractions.
- Meals out just for fun — eating at restaurants is generally discouraged, since food is a home affair.
- Hunting or fishing as “sport” — the handbook distinguishes hunting as subsistence (in old times) vs trips taken for game as pleasure.
- Trips for pleasure/sightseeing — vacations or scenic drives not tied to family, health, or community work.
Sporting events, amusement parks, pleasure drives, meals out simply for entertainment — those are lines the community is meant to hold firm. But in practice? The lines sometimes blur.
Times I’ve Driven Where Rules Were Bent or Broken
A Rule Broken for Love
One evening, Eli and Racheal asked me to drive them to The Trumpet Grill just outside their community to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
While the Van Rider’s Handbook cautions against dining out—stating, “since we do not own cars, why would we hire someone to take us where it costs a lot of money for food which is not as good as Mom can make at home?”—I still agreed to take them. After all, it wasn’t my job to judge.
Relationships are a huge part of the Amish value system, and going out as a married couple provided them an opportunity to strengthen their bond and enjoy much-needed time away from family and farm duties.
Since divorce is prohibited among the Amish, nurturing marriage is seen as a top priority—even if it means breaking a rule.
When the Rules Took a Holiday
I once drove several Amish families to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They rented a huge chalet atop the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Their days were spent shopping downtown, eating out, sightseeing, and even driving go-karts at the Fun Stop Action Park—all activities I chauffeured them to.
Evenings were filled with board games, barbeques, and movies in the chalet’s theater, along with musical concerts and live comedy shows.
Those are strictly forbidden practices in most Amish communities. Whether their bishop would have approved or not, I kept that thought to myself. What I saw was a family having the time of their lives, making memories that would last a lifetime.
The Long Drive for a Short Hunt
When ten Amish men pile into a van before dawn, you know it’s not for a church service. That February, their destination was Illinois—and the goal wasn’t food, but coyotes.
Coyotes don’t respect fences, crops, or livestock. So once a year, Amish men from participating communities across the Midwest gather for a coordinated coyote hunt. That’s how I ended up driving ten of them 350 miles into Illinois.
The Van Rider’s Handbook says, “Our forefathers hunted game for food, but would have never once considered spending time and money to go to a faraway land in search of game if they could have bought ample supplies of fresh meat locally for a fraction of the cost.”
These men weren’t hunting for food, but for protection—helping communities safeguard their crops and farm animals. Surely, under those circumstances, such hunting could be justified…right?
Shopping, or Something More?
Hunting, fishing, taxidermy displays, aquariums, and even food—Cabela’s has it all, and the Amish men love it. So when they asked me to drive them there, how could I say no? On paper, it’s “just shopping,” which is permitted.
But in practice, Cabela’s is a lot more than that. Some Amish groups would call it too fancy, too worldly. Still, the men lit up the moment we walked in—like women in a big fabric store.
Sometimes they stuck to shopping; other times they lingered, joked, and tried out the indoor games. And yes, I’ve also taken Amish to garage sales and even to the mall.
Why one Amish man took his family on a trip
On a trip out west, I traveled with the Schrock family. We shared costs for lodging, meals, and fuel. During that trip, Delbert opened up to me.
One reason he took such a “worldly” journey was to show his wife how other people lived—both modern Amish and English families.
He hoped that by seeing these lifestyles, she might become more open to modern practices, such as those found among the Amish in Yoder, Kansas, and Monte Vista, Colorado. He was questioning the traditions he once held firm.
Gossip is a constant in Amish circles. They gossip about each other, about their drivers, and about members of their community.
After all, they are denied access to mainstream news, being limited in most communities to plain publications, while the rest of us are bombarded 24/7 by multiple media sources.
Fun, freedom, family memories—those are the upsides. Gossip, tension, and doubt—that’s the downside. The line between the two isn’t always clear, and that’s where the real challenge lies.
In my next article, I’ll open the door to the driver’s seat: how we navigate these moral waters together. Join me next time for another story from behind the van door.
Haley Straw spent eight years driving for the Amish full-time and now writes about those experiences from her century-old county jailhouse home. A homeschooling mom of six, survival-skills teacher, and author, Haley writes about life, faith, and the beauty of ordinary moments.
You can find her books and free Amish-inspired extras — like printable calendars and bookmarks — at haleystraw.com.
Another driver
About the only place I haven’t taken Amish in my 5 years driving for an entire family. I don’t mean 1 family but the entire family Grandparents, 7 sons, 5 wives, 40 children etc. Anything from daily work to family funerals in Kentucky n Iowa.
I’ve taken young and old fishing, hunting game, hunting mushrooms the entire clan, shopping, dining Rumspringa-ing <——(new word) camping, hospital, doctor. For 5 years I took them everywhere.
With two exceptions. Never to a bar where they went inside. But this family sold potatoes and melons across the street from a bar. There were only 3 places in town. A discount store, gas station that predominantly served Amish and the bar.
And never to a strip joint. Although 1 dad and I played a joke on two of his boys they were in that age where the worked the family business and were known to come to work hungover on Mondays. So we were working an area where we passed a stop joint daily. He said Tony I haven’t had a beer in years let’s all stop at (bar name) and get a cold one, it’s time them boys learned about women.
I pulled into the lot and there was intrigue n panic. Dad and I both started cracking up as I drove right back out of that lot/
Everywhere
I believe it, Tony – what surprised me about the Amish as I began getting to know them, driving them, is that they go nearly everywhere – and seemingly all the time – like you said, never to a strip joint, though I wouldn’t doubt that some have gone there.
Handbook Source?
Given The Van Rider’s Handbook is quoted as an authority, might we know more about it–the author and publisher? After a cursory search, it appears this might be something written by the driver for clients. Given the diversity of Amish Communities, I am challenged to picture what a general handbook might look like and what it might contain.
Source
Hi Walter, I was loaned the handbook by an Amish friend of mine. It was complied and printed by Plain Interests in the year 2000. It’s nothing really official, as the Amish don’t have an official church head—it was just created as a guide for the Amish to consider when hiring a taxi driver and how to interact with that driver while keeping their values intact.
There is a picture of it in this article: https://amishamerica.com/inside-the-world-of-an-amish-taxi-driver/
Going a little deeper...
Thanks, Haley. As noted, my curiosity was piqued because I couldn’t picture an authoritative work that accurately represented the diverse Amish thinking and practices. I’ve learned that it was published by Plain Interests, a monthly magazine based in Millersburg, OH. (The Young Center for Amish Studies at Elizabethtown College offers an extension list of Amish publishers and publications.) As expected, there’s not much information about the magazine or the book online. I suspect it falls under the heading of “spiritual reflections,” as I can picture that more than “Guidelines.” I consider the Amish (another potentially false generality) to be good thinkers with an intriguing balance between the value of community and independent thinking. One of my favorite experiences was guardedly offering a Swartzentruber Amish woman a set of brand new printed sheets–because of the size we had no use for them. When we looked at them together, she happily exclaimed. “They are only printed on one side–I can turn them inside out.”
Thank you for sharing
Dear Haley,
What a refreshing article! It is a great pleasure to read about people that have not been spoiled by the everyday luxuries of live.
Thank you, Eric, for finding such gems like Haley, telling real live Amish stories from the point of you of an English.
Warm Fuzzies
Hans, this warms my heart — thank you! It means so much to know these stories resonate with readers. I love sharing glimpses of the Amish world through an English lens and appreciate your kind words.
“Kindness begins with understanding.” — Amish Proverb.