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Uber Wants Safe Drivers and Vain Passengers

In a perfect world, Uber rides would involve a totally safe door-to-door trip with a thoroughly vetted driver. And on the flip side, passengers would be respectful of said driver, and not aggressively drunk and throwing up out the window. But again, that’s in a perfect world. Instead, today Uber is rolling out a few changes in 11 U.S. cities that it says will help ensure greater ride safety for both parties.

Now Uber drivers will be able to see how well they’re driving through some new features on the driver version of the Uber app on their phones. (Which Uber would like to mention should be mounted to the dashboard and not in their hands while driving.) Uber will be tracking a driver’s speed, location, braking, and sending reminders to take a break once and a while, the company announced on its blog today. This data won’t be shown to riders, but it will be used by Uber as a way to cross-check rider complaints and hold drivers more accountable.

As for creating safer riders, Uber is still working on a fix for that. The company notes that 80 percent of their riders say using Uber keeps them from drinking and driving, which is great, but doesn’t fix the problem for the unsuspecting Uber driver who now has to deal with a backseat full of belligerent drunks. Earlier this year, Uber tested a program in Seattle where the rearview mirrors were pointed at the passengers. The hope was that if the riders could see themselves they’d behave better. Maybe Uber should consider a partnership with Snapchat.

Uber Wants Safe Drivers and Vain Passengers