Uber’s New 911 Feature No Replacement for Thorough Background Checks

Uber announced April 2018 it would add a new “911” emergency feature to it’s app, the feature is now live in their app in the United States.

Within the Uber app is a new “safety center” menu. The menu contains multiple items including:

• 911 calling
• Driver screening information
• Insurance information
• Community guidelines

Background Checks

In 2015 Uber settled with the district attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco over misleading statements regarding their background checks.

The lawsuit by the California District Attorneys alleged Uber gave a “false sense of security” to riders by claiming their background checks were the toughest in the industry. Taxi drivers must submit fingerprints, which was not a requirement for the rideshare drivers.

CNN found over a hundred instances within the United States of assault, rape and sexual harassment or sexual violence when investigating Uber and Lyft.

911 Assistance

The app requires you to pull up the safety center menu, select the 911 call, then accept again in a dialog box pop-up before it places the call. Uber states this second confirmation is to prevent accidental calls. The feature is live in India, where Uber also faces charges of poor background checks and allowing a culture of assault.

Uber Assault Lawsuit

While Uber is now trying to rebrand itself as a safer service, the company has come under scrutiny for failures to protect employees, drivers and passengers. Levin Simes Abrams offers free consultations to all those injured or assaulted during a rideshare.

If you or a loved one was involved in an incident call our firm at 415-426-3000 to speak with our assault attorneys.