Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sure, now give me the percentages of the uber customers that do the blue security measures EVERYTIME they get a UBER. Below is probably what is typical for what happens, when most Uber drivers pull up to their pickup.
Uber sends them the name of the driver.... The uber driver pulls up and rolls down the window. The pick up is in a hurry and before the driver can even speak the rider says " Are you Bob ? Driver… "Yep, That's me, get in and lets go". ( No bad guy would lie about their name, now would they ?)
license plate number.... Sure, the pick up is going to walk around behind or in front of the car, (during the cold, snowy, raining, windy conditions?) hold their phone up and check the plates while comparing them to the number on their phone EVERY time, they use UBER.
description of the car he's driving.....Have you noticed how many millions of cars that look alike now ? And females are supposed know one from the other ? Many of them have badges on them that even I a 66 year old male, cannot find nowadays without walking around the vehicle 360 degrees.
So if a pickup just fails to do the uber security policies in blue above 50% of the time they get a uber, then sooner or later, there is a higher percentage of chance the pickup, could be a fake uber driver.
At least with a yellow checker cab, the bad guy preying on women will have to steal one and then it will be reported to the police. Sure a yellow cabbie can end up being a bad guy, but I am talking about the law of averages here being used to compare....
One yellow Checker taxi driver that is a bad guy VS one bad guy posing to be a legit uber driver. Because it is peoples nature once doing something over and over like calling for personal hired transport, to get LAX in them adhering to any security measure put in place for them.
And when people do the same events over and over , they also get too complacent while not using their MOST important attribute that will help keep them safer...their SA = "Situational Awareness" instincts. JMO
Okay, but this is not Uber/Lyft's fault.
I use Uber all the time. I ALWAYS check to make sure it's the same vehicle and driver as what's listed on the app.
Not to mention, you're literally watching the car arrive, live, via GPS, on the app. That is how you know it has arrived. You can see yourself, and the car, simultaneously. Quite frankly, there is simply no way I could ever end up in the wrong vehicle.
Getting in a car without doing a simple 5 second check of the vehicle is incredibly stupid.
I said this elsewhere but the problem here might well have been a lack of front license plates in SC. The killer was a black dude in a dark sedan. Odds arent awful that the real Uber matched those details. License plate check is easily done in state with required front plates..not in states lacking that. I try to walk to the back of the car to check the plates in such states, but i know some people roll their eyes at that. It can be perceived as rude or wasting time, so theres a subtle pressure for people to just get on with it.
I said this elsewhere but the problem here might well have been a lack of front license plates in SC. The killer was a black dude in a dark sedan. Odds arent awful that the real Uber matched those details. License plate check is easily done in state with required front plates..not in states lacking that. I try to walk to the back of the car to check the plates in such states, but i know some people roll their eyes at that. It can be perceived as rude or wasting time, so theres a subtle pressure for people to just get on with it.
And that's probably how many people also feel.
We've always been 'taught' not to be rude to people, so some people may not want to do those extra things for fear of offending another. We don't know the exact details of this story yet, so can't really say what she did wrong in terms of her actions (besides the obvious).
Like I said these things have been going on for a while, and several women through the years have had some very scary close calls.
Like this lady who literally jumped out of a moving car in order to escape a fake Uber driver.
That particular lady made a critical mistake though. She asked the fake driver, "are you here for Liz," to which the driver said yeah and to get in the car. One should NEVER ask that, instead, you ask who the driver is picking up. If they don't know your name, bingo, don't get in.
Something like that happened to me nearly a decade ago before there was an Uber. I went overseas on a trip and beforehand I had reserved a taxi online. When I got off the airplane and picked up my bags, I wandered up and down the arrival lobby trying to find my driver who should have had some identifier on him. Some guy then approaches me and stupid me, I ask him, are you the taxi for (my name)? He said yes yes, and walked me over to his fake taxi and I got ripped off big time and also felt scared as he stopped off somewhere shady for a brief moment.
Anyways, many safeguards are already in place and nothing more can be done on the part of Uber.
Before even getting in the car, Old Dominion freshman Deamina Collier said she goes through a checklist of things.
“I definitely look at the license plates. They should match up [with the information listed in the app] and if they don’t, there’s an issue.â€
When requesting a ride with Uber, the company will provide you with the vehicle’s license plate and the driver’s photo as well as their name. You should verify all three before agreeing to get in the car.
You’re also able to contact your driver before getting in the ride. According to Uber’s website, the app automatically anonymizes both phone numbers to protect everyone’s privacy.
A sophomore at Old Dominion University, Alesis Reeder, told News 3 that she always calls the driver beforehand so she knows she’s getting in the right vehicle.
It’s also a good rule of thumb to ask the driver who they are picking up before telling them your name. Never give a stranger more information than they need.
“They have options to keep things safe. Just, again, being cautious of your environment and where you are [is important]. You have to know what car you’re getting into,†Collier said.
This is a very sad & tragic story but it's not Uber's fault. I have a nephew who delivers food for Uber Eats only and he has told me on a number of occasions when he goes to sports bars & restaurants late night to pick up food that people see his Uber Eats sticker in his window and mistakenly think he is a Uber driver then they try to get into his car!
Some even offer him money on the spot to take them wherever they need to go but he isn't approved to carry any passengers with him by Uber only food.
We discussed this incident today and he said he wasn't surprised & that it was only a matter of time something like this would happen.
He also mentioned that the vast majority of these people appeared to be intoxicated and unaware of their surroundings.
By the way even Uber Eats does background checks on their delivery drivers and they also provide their photos & car description even though they are only carrying food.
When was the last time you knew what your pizza delivery guy looked like or knew what he was driving before arriving at your house??
Last edited by Bobdreamz; 04-01-2019 at 11:49 PM..
Just want to clarify here, that I am NOT blaming UBER for this poor woman's demise. Just trying to make some points to get people to think about what they are doing when using paid transport ...UBER or anyone's.
Because as we live life daily, we can become prey to any of these deranged people out here now. No matter how well that we prepare ourselves ...to not become their victim.
The more we stay vigilant while doing what ever we can do to stay focused and aware of the dangers, doing so just gives us a better chance of surviving each day.
When someone calls for an Uber ride, Uber sends them the name of the driver, a description of the car he's driving, and the license plate number. This is done expressly to avoid such horrible crimes as this one.
But it only works if the rider checks them, and compares the description and plate no. to the car that pulls up.
I drive Uber. And when someone wants a ride, Uber always sends me the rider's first name. And when I arrive to pick them up, I always say before they get in the car, "Hi, I'm Charles the Uber driver, and I'm looking for Denise."
Riders should always at least check the name of the Uber driver that Uber sends. A crook wouldn't know the name of the driver to give them, and wouldn't know the rider's first name unless he was standing next to the rider when they called for Uber.
Anything else Uber should do to help with security?
Uber Rider
I feel you should request the passenger's name. I remember ordering an UberPool and my driver stuck his head out the window and was calling out for me. A couple, a guy and girl, answered the call. I saw on the app that the car was heading out so i called the driver and told him that i was not on board and why did he leave. He stopped the car, let me in and i showed him the app confirming that i was his passenger. The couple just rambled on how they ordered a UberPool too, how his dad ordered the car for him so he doesn't have it, etc. The Uber Driver rode these 2 to their "location" and dropped me off at mine.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I remember a time when we told our kids to never get into a car with a stranger. Times sure have changed.
