What Steps Do Uber and Lyft Take for Passenger Safety When Hiring Drivers?
While the benefits of hiring a rideshare service to transport you and your friends from one place to another are inarguable, there are also safety concerns that have been made by customers, especially in light of the shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by an Uber driver who shot and killed six people.
Our local San Diego Lyft and Uber drivers have been under fire as well due to recent allegations of sexual assault and DUI charges. It is with due apprehension that customers rely on Uber and Lyft today. People are now asking important questions about the safety precautions these ridesharing companies take before hiring.
Current Safety Concerns
Passengers who use ridesharing services are not only afraid of being attacked by drivers – they have to worry about the employee driving under the influence or driving while distracted. These are the main concerns of passengers using ridesharing today:
- Driver distraction
- DUI drivers
- Property theft, including robbing homes
- Physical assault
- Kidnapping
- Sexual assault
- Murder
Since Uber and Lyft use smartphone technology to acquire passengers, drivers must be available on their phones at any given moment. More than one fatal vehicle crash in 2015 due to DUI incidents have left passengers wondering how stringent these companies are in preventing their drivers from drinking or doing drugs on the job.
Since neither company conducts drug tests, there is no guarantee that your driver is not under the influence when he or she picks you up. Drivers also do not have to face a boss in person on their shifts and are therefore free to indulge in activities that would otherwise be punishable.
Uber and Lyft drivers can use their own vehicles to pick up passengers, resulting in a high number of imposters. Criminals pretend to be drivers to pick up, kidnap, harm, or rob unsuspecting victims who think they are simply taking a ride.
These horrific incidences have led to the kidnapping, assault, and death of dozens of people around the US. Some of the more gruesome stories include the San Francisco man whose skull was fractured after being hit in the head with a hammer by his Uber driver and the Seattle Lyft driver who dragged a woman behind his car.
Hiring Procedure
Uber conducts a background check, going through the last seven years of an applicant’s life. It requests the full name, social security number, birth date, driver’s license number, and vehicle documentation and then screens the information to discover any convictions. If the driver is using a stolen identity, Uber has no way of knowing this. It will hire a driver as long as the given information comes up clear of DUI charges, sexual assault charges, and violent crimes.
Lyft’s background check procedures are similar, with no involvement from the police and no fingerprinting technology. Neither company sends representatives to meet potential drivers in person before hiring them, nor do they look into an applicant’s background beyond the last seven years. Regulated taxi services require their drivers to be fingerprinted, which provides a comprehensive view of criminal history and prevents imposters from being hired using false identities.
Let Us Help Defend Your Case Against Uber and Lyft
If you have been injured, attacked, assaulted, or involved in any kind of crash or altercation with a driver of an Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare vehicle, call the expert attorneys at Liljegren Law Group. We are sensitive to the threat and fear of being injured in any way – especially in an environment you are supposed to feel safe in. Do not let a rideshare service take advantage of you. Contact us today to discuss your case.