SAFETY IN RIDE SHARING

Although Uber has gone to great lengths to project an image of being a secure driving alternative, saying that safety is “at the heart of everything we do,” the company has consistently placed a high priority on protecting its own image. The debate about whether Uber is an employer with all the responsibilities that such designation entails, or simply an intermediary, a platform pairing riders with drivers, means that Uber takes virtually no direct responsibility for what happens on a trip, including accidents, assaults and injuries.

Uber has consistently said that safety is its highest priority. However, Uber’s record on safety initiatives is mixed. On the one hand, Uber has strengthened its teams devoted to safety matters, consulted with advocacy organizations and started to allow riders to record audio of their trips within the app to use as evidence in case of wrongdoing. This year, for the first time, Uber and Lyft started sharing data with each other about dangerous drivers. On the other hand, Uber has resisted other measures like fingerprinting , installing cameras in drivers’ vehicles and more extensive background checks that could improve safety but would slow the process of adding new drivers, which is essential to keeping enough available rides on the road.

In 2019, Uber came under fire for its safety transparency report, which revealed that the company had received nearly 6,000 reports of sexual assault in 2017 and 2018 on its platform. Uber has stressed the fact that the report also showed safety incidents overall are extremely rare, with 99.9% of trips ending without any safety reports at all. However, riders are not the only people at risk. Uber’s study found that riders were the ones accused of attacking drivers in 45 percent of reports of serious sexual assaults. And while Uber has taken steps to protect drivers — even starting to ban riders with low ratings on the platform — people behind the wheel can still feel at risk.

Drivers themselves and various governments are trying to get the company to reclassify drivers as employees. If they are reclassified, Uber will be liable for negligent accidents caused by drivers, as well as for other driver wrongdoing. In the meantime, attorneys seek to hold Uber accountable by suing the company for damages, including pain and suffering, medical costs, and lost wages, due to the actions of its drivers.

NEW SAFETY FEATURES

Uber is adding several new safety features to its app, including an audio reminder to riders to wear their seat belts, allowing riders or drivers to record audio during rides, and detection of unexpected route changes or stops before the final destination. The updates are designed to help both riders and drivers feel safer during trips. The audio recording feature , which has been live in Latin America for around two years, will begin rolling out in the U.S. as a pilot in Kansas City, Louisville and Raleigh-Durham.

Uber is enhancing RideCheck nationwide, a feature the company added in 2019 to detect possible crashes or unusually long stops during a trip using GPS data and sensors in the driver’s smartphone. Now, RideCheck has expanded to detect when a trip ends unexpectedly before reaching the final destination or when a driver goes off course. When the system detects possible issues, both the rider and driver will receive a RideCheck notification prompting them to let Uber know through the app that all is well or take other actions like pressing the emergency button or reporting the issue.

ACCIDENTS WHILE USING UBER

Generally, if you are in an Uber accident, the company's $1 million dollar insurance policy should cover all damages . If your Uber driver was at fault or not, their insurance policy will reimburse you for damages if the accident happened in the middle of your ride. Uber’s liability policy covers up to $1,000,000 per accident for personal injury, for property damage, and uninsured or underinsured drivers. However, the protection granted by this policy depends on whether the Uber driver was logged into his or her application during your trip. If the driver was not logged into his or her account, you won’t receive coverage from Uber. Depending on the situation, you could potentially file a claim against the driver and his or her insurance company.

Georgia is a “modified comparative negligence” state. Under this system, a plaintiff can recover if he or she proves the defendant was more at fault for the accident than they were. However, the amount of damages is reduced by their own contributory negligence. For instance, if you were awarded $100,000 in damages, but were found to be 10% at fault for the crash, you would receive $90,000. A skilled personal injury attorney can help you determine the best course of action after an Uber accident.

CONTACT YOUR ATTORNEY

If you or someone you know has been in an accident while riding in an Uber vehicle, contact Dave Thomas at The Thomas Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation regarding your legal rights.