Is Uber Really Safe?

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Blake Gomez, Writer

Last week on Saturday an incident with an Uber driver occurred. Jason Dalton, a 45 year old man, was arrested after he confessed to police that he was the shooter that terrorized the college town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tragic event left 6 people dead, and several others injured, making it one of the deadliest events in the city’s history.  Dalton was believed to be committing these shootings during his time between  picking up and dropping off his fares. This raises the question if Uber is a safe transportation service to be using. There have been several reported cases with the service. Some include impostors, kidnappings, felonies, sexual assaults, attacks on passengers, and killings. Here is a list that includes all of these incidents.

Mug Shot of the Uber Killer Jason Dalton
Michigan Police
Mug Shot of the Uber Killer Jason Dalton

(http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents)

The problem with being in a car with an Uber driver is that you don’t know anything about them. All you know is that they are just a driver taking you to where you need to go. The same thing could also be said about a Taxi driver but incidents with Taxis are reported significantly less compared to Uber. The reason why it’s worse with Uber is because the company does not do background checks for their drivers. They even don’t bother to meet with new drivers in person before they let them transport passengers which is why all of these issues continue to happen. Most people choose Uber over a Taxi because of how much cheaper it can be, but this also comes with the higher chance of their lives being in more danger as well.

It is perfectly okay to use Uber but people should be wary of the high risk involved with using it. Many lives of both adults and children are in jeopardy when using this transportation service sometimes and it is a shame that Uber is not doing more to stop this from happening.