8 ms·

Uber & Lyft may have safety problems, but at least the drivers aren't using Crown Victorias with poor seatbelts. Imagine if John Nash hadn't taken a taxi that d

Uber & Lyft may have safety problems, but at least the drivers aren't using Crown Victorias with poor seatbelts. Imagine if John Nash hadn't taken a taxi that day.

alialkhatib 11y ago
I don't think this remark is appropriate, especially given that an UberX driver killed a 6-year-old about 2 and a half years ago, but mostly because Uber and Lyft have been around for only around 5 years at this point.
- 9872 11y ago
  5 years with that number of drivers is a ton of data.
  - alialkhatib 11y ago
    That's true, but it's dwarfed by the amount of data representing traditional cabs. If we're not just selecting for cases involving deaths, a string of cases implicating Uber drivers in violence against passengers[0,1,2] suggests - if nothing else - that the notion that Uber/Lyft drivers are qualitatively safer than taxis is false. And in the last case, it's clear that shortcomings in a system (namely, the thoroughness of background checks Uber runs) might have prevented such a turn of events. 0: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/UberX-Driver-Accused-of-Hitting-Passenger-with-Hammer-in-San-Francisco-277280041.html http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/UberX-Driver-Accused-of... 1: http://laist.com/2015/04/10/uber_driver_attack_van_nuys.php http://laist.com/2015/04/10/uber_driver_attack_van_nuys.php 2: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/06/03/uber-driver-with-felony-conviction-charged-with-battery-for-allegedly-hitting-passenger/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/06/03/uber-driver...
    - Lewton 11y ago
      3 cases of "uber"-violence does nothing to suggest "that the notion that Uber/Lyft drivers are qualitatively safer than taxis is false" without data from the dangers of riding normal cabs to compare it to.
      - alialkhatib 11y ago
        That's true. I think I just got annoyed at the emotional appeal of the Nash death and overreached. Sorry.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      The second was an attack by passengers against an Uber driver. What you can find multiple taxi drivers convicted of rape and kidnap just from the past couple of years.
busterarm 11y ago
I don't know...regular vehicles have safety problems too. What are the odds that fulltime Uber drivers are going to be taking their cars out of service for long periods of time to follow safety recalls? Given the patterns of service I'm seeing here in NY, probably zero. http://prospect.org/article/are-uber-and-lyft-driving-recalled-cars http://prospect.org/article/are-uber-and-lyft-driving-recall... Rental car companies didn't do it. Three of them only pledged to do so in 2012 and the rest are being forced to by Congress as of this month. Crown Vics are built like tanks (specifically the police interceptor and long-wheelbase commercial versions). Those transmissions last forever and can take abuse. Panther love.

Uber & Lyft may have safety problems, but at least the drivers aren't using Crown Victorias with poor seatbelts. Imagine if John Nash hadn't taken a taxi that day.

alialkhatib 11y ago

I don't think this remark is appropriate, especially given that an UberX driver killed a 6-year-old about 2 and a half years ago, but mostly because Uber and Lyft have been around for only around 5 years at this point.

9872 11y ago
5 years with that number of drivers is a ton of data.
- alialkhatib 11y ago
  That's true, but it's dwarfed by the amount of data representing traditional cabs. If we're not just selecting for cases involving deaths, a string of cases implicating Uber drivers in violence against passengers[0,1,2] suggests - if nothing else - that the notion that Uber/Lyft drivers are qualitatively safer than taxis is false. And in the last case, it's clear that shortcomings in a system (namely, the thoroughness of background checks Uber runs) might have prevented such a turn of events. 0: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/UberX-Driver-Accused-of-Hitting-Passenger-with-Hammer-in-San-Francisco-277280041.html http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/UberX-Driver-Accused-of... 1: http://laist.com/2015/04/10/uber_driver_attack_van_nuys.php http://laist.com/2015/04/10/uber_driver_attack_van_nuys.php 2: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/06/03/uber-driver-with-felony-conviction-charged-with-battery-for-allegedly-hitting-passenger/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/06/03/uber-driver...
  - Lewton 11y ago
    3 cases of "uber"-violence does nothing to suggest "that the notion that Uber/Lyft drivers are qualitatively safer than taxis is false" without data from the dangers of riding normal cabs to compare it to.
    - alialkhatib 11y ago
      That's true. I think I just got annoyed at the emotional appeal of the Nash death and overreached. Sorry.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    The second was an attack by passengers against an Uber driver. What you can find multiple taxi drivers convicted of rape and kidnap just from the past couple of years.

busterarm 11y ago

I don't know...regular vehicles have safety problems too. What are the odds that fulltime Uber drivers are going to be taking their cars out of service for long periods of time to follow safety recalls? Given the patterns of service I'm seeing here in NY, probably zero. http://prospect.org/article/are-uber-and-lyft-driving-recalled-cars http://prospect.org/article/are-uber-and-lyft-driving-recall... Rental car companies didn't do it. Three of them only pledged to do so in 2012 and the rest are being forced to by Congress as of this month. Crown Vics are built like tanks (specifically the police interceptor and long-wheelbase commercial versions). Those transmissions last forever and can take abuse. Panther love.