Whether you are ordering a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft or a similar service in the USA or overseas, your personal safety before and during your ride should be a top priority.
Here are common sense rideshare safety tips to avoid becoming one of the growing number of riders – especially women riding alone and intoxicated passengers – reporting being robbed or assaulted.
An investigation by the NYTimes, with the headline “Uber’s Festering Sexual Assault Problem”, between 2017 and 2022, reports that more than 400,000 Uber trips in the United States resulted in complaints of misconduct that varied from a driver flirting or using foul language with a passenger to “sexual assault”, which is the sanitized description of rape.
Before that, Uber had disclosed 12,522 accounts of serious sexual assaults for that same time period, without indicating the total number of sexual assault and sexual misconduct reports it received.
Uber has not released data for the years since 2022, although the NYTimes article reports court records indicate reports of incidents have increased.
Even though both Uber and Lyft have implemented safety systems, survivors claim those still have failed to protect their passengers, despite the companies being aware of the abuse taking place through their platforms.
Uber has a website page of passenger safety advice, which includes wearing your seatbelt, riding in the back, and letting loved ones know your trip information.
Uber also has an algorithm to track a driver’s ride time so that it matches the reservation.
But, apparently, that did not protect a woman cited in the NYTimes article who was intoxicated when she got into an Uber for a 22-minute ride home from a bar and woke up eight-ish hours later in a motel after being raped by her driver. The Uber algorithm reportedly recognized the deviation and texted them both , but despite no responses from either driver or passenger, Uber did not notify police.
Protecting Yourself Before & During a Ride
Verify Your Ride
When the ride arrives, make sure your driver’s information matches what’s on the app to ensure you’re getting in the correct car. This includes the license plate of the car they’re driving and the appearance of their vehicle.
As an extra precaution, you should also ask the driver to tell you their name or the name of the person they’re there to pick up before entering the car.
- In October 2023, a Boston woman was attacked after getting in a car she believed was an Uber. The driver, who was not associated with a rideshare company, brought her to a different location where he sexually assaulted her.
Share Your Trip Details With Someone You Trust
Both Uber and Lyft let riders share the status of their trip with a friend or family member, so that person can track where you are in real time. This is especially important for anybody traveling while intoxicated and/or late night trips home from a delayed flight.
- Destination and estimated time of arrival
- Driver’s name and photo
- Make, model, and license plate of the car
You may also want to screenshot and share your trip information with someone via text. If a driver cancels your ride at any point, even if you’re already in the car, their information may disappear from the app
Ride in the Back Seat
Ride in the backseat. This will create space between you and the driver, which could lessen the chances of an assault taking place.
When entering the back seat of a car, check the child safety lock feature. There should be a small lever on the inside of the door:
- If it’s pushed up, this feature is off.
- If the lever is down, the safety lock has been activated, and you may not be able to exit the vehicle on your own.
If there are multiple riders in your group, the front seat may be the only space in the car that’s available. Still, having other passengers present during the ride may also reduce the risk of an assault taking place.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Keep an eye on the streets and places around you to make sure your driver is going to the correct location.
- Track the route on your phone’s map to give you peace of mind that your driver is taking the right turns to arrive at your destination.
- If you believe your driver is going somewhere other than your intended destination, ask where they’re going or call someone who may be waiting for you. That’s what I did recently when a regular car service I use (NOT Uber or Lyft) home from the airport and I challenged him repeatedly.
- If the driver is aware that someone is expecting you, it can be as a deterrent.
Don’t Share Personal Information
While you can have a friendly conversation with your driver, you should never share personal information beyond what is in the ride order, which includes your address and phone number.
- The driver may use this information to stalk or harass you in the future, or share the information with friends who might harm you, even if the driver did not seem dangerous during your ride together.
- While Uber and Lyft prevent drivers from accessing a passenger’s phone number and conceal pickup and drop-off locations on the app, it doesn’t mean a driver won’t remember an address.
To further protect your privacy, you can select a nearby address to get dropped off at and walk a short distance to your actual destination.
Trust Your Instincts
If something about your ride feels wrong, don’t hesitate to take action or seek help by:
- Call someone during your ride, so your driver knows someone is aware of what’s going on
- Cancel the ride at any time on your rideshare app
- Ask the driver to pull over
- Exit the vehicle when safe to do so
You can also cancel your ride before you get in the car if you see that your assigned driver received poor reviews from other passengers.
Call for Help
Lyft and Uber have partnered with the ADT® security company to provide discrete help to riders who are afraid for their safety.
“If you ever feel uncomfortable on a trip but aren’t in an emergency situation, you can tap the safety shield icon, select Contact safety agent, and get help from a trained ADT agent — either on the phone or silently via text. If the situation escalates, ADT can call 911 for you.” – Uber
You can also contact the police directly via the emergency button in your app. This button allows you to share details about your trip and current location with the dispatcher.
Report Abuse or Harassment
If you were abused or harassed by a rideshare driver, report the driver to the rideshare company as soon as it’s safe to do so.
By informing the company about the incident, their support team may be able to provide you with resources and remove the driver from the app’s platform.
Reporting a driver may prevent future riders from experiencing abuse from this driver. Also, it could mean the driver is dropped – fired – from the rideshare company.
Ride safely. Ride smart.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is President Emeritus of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA).
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter also is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
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