{"id":3970,"date":"2016-01-07T07:09:12","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T12:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2016-01-06T14:20:07","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T19:20:07","slug":"should-uber-be-doing-more-to-protect-its-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/2016\/01\/07\/should-uber-be-doing-more-to-protect-its-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Uber Be Doing More To Protect Its Drivers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A few weekends ago, an Orange County Uber driver named Edward Caban released a now viral video on Youtube<\/a> that depicted a scary confrontation\u00a0between himself and his passenger, Benjamin Golden. \u00a0In a little less than a week, the video has garnered over 2 million views and\u00a0raised serious questions about driver safety.<\/p>\n

The video itself depicts a drunk Golden, unable to sit up straight or give directions to the driver, turn violent when Caban demands that he exit the vehicle. \u00a0The video was recorded by the driver\u2019s\u00a0dash cam and it ends with the intoxicated Golden being pepper sprayed by Caban.<\/p>\n

Golden was arrested at the scene and his charges were upgraded the day after to four misdemeanors<\/a> according to the Orange County DA\u2019s office. \u00a0He was also fired from his position as a Taco Bell executive and will likely have trouble finding work for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

For Uber drivers across the country, the first couple minutes of this video were nothing out of the ordinary. \u00a0We\u2019ve all had passengers<\/a> who were too drunk to enter their destination or unable\u00a0to give accurate directions, but rarely have things turned violent.<\/p>\n

In fact, with over 1 million trips per day, most of the newsworthy incidents regarding Uber usually\u00a0have to do with passenger safety. \u00a0Recently, an Uber driver in India was sentenced to life in prison<\/a> for raping a female passenger and there are countless other horror stories in which drivers are most often\u00a0the perpetrators. \u00a0But this is one of the first well publicized cases we\u2019ve seen\u00a0where the driver was actually the victim instead of the passenger.<\/p>\n

Was It Just A Matter Of Time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drivers have been dealing with drunk passengers since Uber\u2019s early days\u00a0and it\u2019s common knowledge that the \u2018Party Hours\u2019, typically Friday and Saturday evenings, are when it\u2019s busiest but also when you get the highest number of intoxicated passengers.<\/p>\n

I like to tell drivers on my site<\/a>, that a good beginner strategy is to just \u2018Follow The Alcohol\u2019 since even Uber promotes its\u00a0platform as the safer alternative to drinking and driving. \u00a0And it\u2019s no different on holiday weekends like Halloween when this incident occurred.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a chart that Uber sent to my driver account a few days before Halloween weekend.<\/p>\n

\"Uber<\/p>\n

You can see from the chart above that demand is at its highest when people have had a full night of drinking and partying and are just about ready to start heading home. \u00a0Now, dealing with drunks isn\u2019t the sexiest part about being an Uber driver but it is usually when you\u2019ll make the most amount of money. \u00a0Uber\u2019s surge pricing encourages drivers to come out on the road during these times and that increased pay can make up for having to deal with these unruly passengers.<\/p>\n

But drivers have always had a lot of concerns in regards to driving during this time. \u00a0There are some drivers who flat out refuse to drive nights\u00a0and others do it begrudgingly.<\/p>\n

Should Uber Do More?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately for drivers, Uber has a history<\/a> of providing the bare minimum when it comes to what\u2019s required by the law. \u00a0So whether we\u2019re talking rideshare insurance<\/a>, background checks or safety issues, Uber has deferred a lot of the risk of driving and owning a business to its independent contractors.<\/p>\n

And this case is no different. \u00a0I\u2019ve spoken with hundreds of drivers<\/a> about this particular incident over the past few days and\u00a0this video has really struck a nerve with a lot of them because it\u2019s brought to light the real risks of being an Uber driver. \u00a0Uber is starting to look more than ever like a glorified taxi service with a fancy app and that can be problematic for a couple reasons.<\/p>\n

Driving A Taxi Is Dangerous<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason why driving a taxi consistently ranks on top ten list for the most dangerous jobs. \u00a0And if you couldn\u2019t tell from the plexiglass screen that sits in-between you and your taxi driver,\u00a0a report from OSHA<\/a> released in the year 2000 found that taxi drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the report provided several recommendations in order to make things safer for taxi drivers:<\/p>\n