PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Samantha Josephson mistook a car for her Uber. The driver of the car is accused of kidnapping her and then killing her. You might remember her story from last month, she was 21-years-old and a student at the University of South Carolina.
It prompted stories from us about Uber passenger safety.
After we ran that story, Uber drivers wanted a voice too about their safety.
Amy Cohan’s story of why she started as an Uber driver three and a half years ago is relatable.
“I found myself in between jobs,” she said.
She started in a four-door sedan, and later upgraded to a white minivan to take advantage of Uber’s XL pricing for larger cars.
Plus, there’s plenty of room for Potato, her dog.
“She’s kind of your first line of defense safety wise?” I asked Amy.
“Oh yeah, for sure, she’s so vicious!” she said, sarcastically.
Joe Christman started driving about a year ago. After an injury, Ubering is something his health would allow him to do.
“It’s a great job, I don’t I’m driving around, it’s fun, it keeps me busy,” he said.
They’re thankful for it, but...
Amy says, “One lady was terrible. She was so terrible, I reported her.”
I followed up, “How many stories do you have?”
“Probably 100. Maybe more.”
It comes with some risk.
I asked Amy, “What are some things that you didn’t do then you do now?”
“I don’t drive at night as much.”
But they say there’s more that the rideshare companies can do.
“You know what I think would be a really good idea? A dash cam, if Uber had one,” Amy said,
“I’d like to see a picture of what people look like before I pick them up. I never know who I’m picking up,” Joe said.
We ran those ideas by Uber.
They didn’t say yes or no to them, but instead said they are piloting new programs, like ride check. Whether there’s a crash or some other extended, unforeseen stop in the ride, an alert will go to both rider and driver.
If both don’t say they’re OK, help will be summoned.
In the age of the internet and information, who you’re paired with is still luck of the draw.
“When we were kids, we’re told to never go on the internet and talk to strangers. And now we go on the internet and strangers get into our car or we get into their car,” Amy said.
