Gone are the days of standing on a busy street corner to hail a random taxi, and while the taxi pulls over, we can only hope it’s a clean car with a decent driver. These days, with only a few taps on your phone, you can summon a comfortable and (supposedly) safe ride that will take you right to your doorstep.

But beneath the advantage of convenience, there’s a dark snag that isn’t talked about enough– a growing concern about passenger safety, particularly regarding sexual assault.

This isn’t just a hunch based on a few sensational news stories. In 2019, Uber itself released a safety report that revealed that over 3,000 sexual assault reports were filed between 2016 and 2018 in the United States alone. According to an Uber sexual assault attorney, these numbers are merely a fraction of the actual occurrences.

A large number of victims usually prefer not to report their sexual assault experience due to feelings of shame, fear of retaliation, and even the overwhelming nature of the incident. 

As a society, we need to act in the best interest of every vulnerable individual. We need to set up and enforce regulations for ridesharing platforms to ensure these incidents do not even occur in the first place.

What We Can Do

Stronger regulations are not just meant to ensure passenger safety. They are there to ensure accountability on the part of drivers.

The victims of these assaults are traumatized by the violation of their trust and safety. It leaves them in a state of devastation that might last longer than is healthy. Imagine the fear, the confusion, and the sense of helplessness a victim experiences.

We cannot, in good conscience, wait for another high-profile case before we act. We need stronger regulations now to protect the millions of people who rely on ridesharing services every day.

The good news is that change is possible. Increased public awareness, coupled with legislative pressure, can force ridesharing companies to prioritize passenger safety.

We, the riders, have a voice. We can demand stricter regulations to tax these ridesharing companies and encourage them to do more to protect their passengers.

If we hold out our hands long enough, our voices will be heard. The government will come to our aid and help us hold the ridesharing companies accountable for the safety of everyone who hails a ride.

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How Passenger Safety Can Be Improved

The government needs to tax every operational ridesharing service to ensure their compliance with the following regulations:

Comprehensive Background Checks

Ridesharing companies should implement stricter background checks on every driver that they hire.

They need to go beyond basic criminal history. They can fingerprint these drivers for easy identification and location, conduct checks for domestic violence history, and also verify their past driving records across all states.

Individuals who fail to meet the marks in these categories are not worthy of being charged with the safety of passengers. Therefore, they must not be allowed to become rideshare drivers in the first place.

Enhanced Training

There must be mandatory in-person training programs for all drivers before they are allowed to function professionally. These programs should not only focus on driving safety but also cover topics like sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention, and de-escalation techniques.

Drivers should be educated on the consequences of causing harm to riders and also taught moral lessons that’ll motivate them to be more concerned about their passengers’ safety.

Transparency and Accountability

Companies need to be more transparent about reported assaults. They should release anonymized data to allow for independent analysis and public scrutiny.

With this data, passengers can identify trends and patterns and use the information to develop safety protocols for avoiding predatory drivers.

Also, there should be a clear and accessible process for reporting assault complaints, with consequences for drivers who violate the platform’s policies.

Passenger Safety Tools

Ridesharing apps should continue to develop and improve safety features like real-time trip tracking, in-app emergency buttons, and the ability to share ride information with trusted contacts. These features can come in really handy for passengers and help them get protection when they need it.

Wrapping Up

Regulations are especially important for the quiet and restrained victims in our society. We want to ensure that they never become victims again. And we also want to ensure that more people do not have to go through that ordeal.

As a victim, you have the right to demand the prosecution of the person who put you through such a traumatizing experience. What you need is a lawyer who understands your plight. They have helped countless others like you, and they will do the same for you, but first, you have to come forward.