Would you get in a car with a stranger? Some claim that Uber defies all the safety precautions adults teach the younger generation. In this electronic age, this generation has figured out a new way of transportation. Why carpool when you could have your very own Uber driver?
An Uber driver, reached through a smartphone app, drives customers to desired destinations. A rider requests a driver in a general area, a driver is notified and assigned this rider, and he or she picks up the rider at the location. The driver then takes the passenger to their destination using GPS or directions given by the passenger. Once the passenger is dropped off at the location, they can rate the driver on the experience and vice versa. The payment is then addressed to the passenger’s payment method on their account.
As phenomenal as it sounds, there has been arguments claiming that this method of transportation is unsafe. The New Zealand Transport Agency discovers that a majority of 1700 studied Uber drivers, since April 2016, have not been thoroughly reviewed. “Our concern has been around some of the drivers out there who have issues that wouldn’t be picked up by those checks,” claims Kate Styles, an operations manager at the agency.
There have been many reports of Uber trips turning for the worse, some even leading to abductions and felonies. On July 31, 2014 Adssan Nafasat, an UberX driver, sexually assaulted a male passenger and was later charged and sentenced. On October 29, 2016, an Uber driver abducted a student from Delhi Public Schools and demanded a ransom from the boy’s father. Thankfully, the boy was quickly traced and saved by police. Uber drivers also have been charged with felonies despite passing background checks.
Ultimately, many people believe that Uber is an unsafe means of travel. But what do you think? The choice is yours, Bergen Tech: is Uber a convenient, modern type of transportation, or is it a dangerous risk?
Author: Aerielle Rojas
