Is there a way to report a reckless Uber driver?
December 1, 2017 9:29 PM Subscribe
An Uber driver did something very dangerous, but I was not their passenger; I was driving the car that would have borne the brunt of our narrowly avoided crash.
First off, I'm assuming the answer is "no, there is not a way to report this," or at least there is not a way to meaningfully report this. I say this because Uber is scum and I don't believe they take anything seriously unless they are forced to by a court of law.
But I thought I would ask on the off chance I'm wrong, because man, I would have been typing this from a hospital tonight had my reflexes not been so instant. The physical circumstances of the near-accident are hard to describe, but they involved the Uber (without signaling, bien sûr) suddenly veering from a stop into a highly accelerated, almost perpendicular swerve across an adjacent lane of traffic (which had moving vehicles in it) into a far turn lane (which also had moving vehicles in it, including mine). We all avoided a very serious multicar pileup by a hair. It was one of those situations where it all unfolded so fast no one even had time to honk, and then I was in such shock that I just started calmly driving onward. The Uber driver gunned it up the road and zoomed away onto a side street, clearly afraid of the reactions of the other drivers. I saw their license plate, though.
Is there any way to report something like this to Uber? I know they won't care, but I witness a LOT of reckless driving each week, and this incident was still the second* most egregious I've experienced this year.
(*First prize still goes to the Maserati that was going twice the speed limit and using the wrong side of the road as a supplementary weaving lane.)
First off, I'm assuming the answer is "no, there is not a way to report this," or at least there is not a way to meaningfully report this. I say this because Uber is scum and I don't believe they take anything seriously unless they are forced to by a court of law.
But I thought I would ask on the off chance I'm wrong, because man, I would have been typing this from a hospital tonight had my reflexes not been so instant. The physical circumstances of the near-accident are hard to describe, but they involved the Uber (without signaling, bien sûr) suddenly veering from a stop into a highly accelerated, almost perpendicular swerve across an adjacent lane of traffic (which had moving vehicles in it) into a far turn lane (which also had moving vehicles in it, including mine). We all avoided a very serious multicar pileup by a hair. It was one of those situations where it all unfolded so fast no one even had time to honk, and then I was in such shock that I just started calmly driving onward. The Uber driver gunned it up the road and zoomed away onto a side street, clearly afraid of the reactions of the other drivers. I saw their license plate, though.
Is there any way to report something like this to Uber? I know they won't care, but I witness a LOT of reckless driving each week, and this incident was still the second* most egregious I've experienced this year.
(*First prize still goes to the Maserati that was going twice the speed limit and using the wrong side of the road as a supplementary weaving lane.)
Response by poster: Hey, thanks! I am surprised. I am not, however, surprised that they won't tell you what happened next (if anything). But it will at least feel satisfying to make the report.
posted by desert outpost at 9:36 PM on December 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by desert outpost at 9:36 PM on December 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Probably better to report to the police. Some jurisdictions actually care about reckless driving, whereas I doubt Uber ever does. (Although maybe that changes if you have a police report to cite!)
posted by d. z. wang at 9:50 PM on December 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by d. z. wang at 9:50 PM on December 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
Definitely report to the police. That reckless driver will still be a menace on the roads even if (however likely or unlikely it is) Uber fires him.
posted by Umami Dearest at 1:53 AM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Umami Dearest at 1:53 AM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I Uber and Uber will deactivate a driver for this kind of shit. They'll deactivate for petty stuff too like their own app sending a driver the wrong way down a one way street. I've had it almost send me off a cliff. I've been sent into a very old overgrown cemetery instead of the adjacent brand new apartment complex. "Pick up Serena on your left." I did get out and look at headstones but no Serena.
What probably happened is that the Uber driver app changed it's mind about routing several times. It will send you in huge circles rather than tell you to pull over and change directions.
Most drivers around here do not have the experience I had of learning the area pre GPS and I see them do things like this. They are desperately trying to make some money which requires a bit more than just doing what the app tells you to do and they lose sight of everything else.
I report other Uber drivers every week and when I do it with passengers aboard they tell me about terrible Uber experiences and we go back through their rides and I get them to report those drivers and sometimes it is the same one that just went side to side across the most dangerous 5 lane bridge in NC. A simultaneous report from both a driver and passengers can get someone deactivated.
Uber sucks. I do Lyft too but there is not enough.
Uber is terrible. Uber only cares about Uber. They ordered 33K self driving cars from Volvo. Lost, IIRC 750 million last quarter. GPS is never going to work around here with all these mountain nooks and crannies.
You should complain loudly. Get the personal numbers from the drivers you like and we will come get you and do it for what Uber would and cut Uber out.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:22 AM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
What probably happened is that the Uber driver app changed it's mind about routing several times. It will send you in huge circles rather than tell you to pull over and change directions.
Most drivers around here do not have the experience I had of learning the area pre GPS and I see them do things like this. They are desperately trying to make some money which requires a bit more than just doing what the app tells you to do and they lose sight of everything else.
I report other Uber drivers every week and when I do it with passengers aboard they tell me about terrible Uber experiences and we go back through their rides and I get them to report those drivers and sometimes it is the same one that just went side to side across the most dangerous 5 lane bridge in NC. A simultaneous report from both a driver and passengers can get someone deactivated.
Uber sucks. I do Lyft too but there is not enough.
Uber is terrible. Uber only cares about Uber. They ordered 33K self driving cars from Volvo. Lost, IIRC 750 million last quarter. GPS is never going to work around here with all these mountain nooks and crannies.
You should complain loudly. Get the personal numbers from the drivers you like and we will come get you and do it for what Uber would and cut Uber out.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:22 AM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
If you feel it's reportable, i'd do uber... But an uber decal doesn't mean they were actually driving for uber at the time of the incident , or even that they are an active driver with the company at this current time.
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:58 AM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:58 AM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
How do you know the other car was being driven for Uber?
posted by zadcat at 7:16 AM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by zadcat at 7:16 AM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Of course one can't be certain that the driver was working for Uber at the time. But I think it's likely that they were, given the apparent tendency of Uber drivers - at least around here - to make dangerous maneuvers due to being lost or behind schedule. I also can't help but feel that anyone who violates traffic laws so egregiously, regardless of whether they were on the clock at the time, shouldn't be ferrying others for pay. Either way, since I was able to provide the time, place, and license plate number, I assume that if Uber does read the complaint they will be able to tell whether the driver was working or not.
I did feel some brief guilt over reporting, since I know many/most Uber drivers are just desperately trying to make money. But then I decided I was being like Mr. Singer in the first thirty seconds of this clip (warning: Woody Allen, fuck Woody Allen), and stopped feeling bad.
As for involving the police, I'm afraid LAPD has better things to deal with than reckless driving, particularly recklessness that was not captured on video. (I have definitely fantasized about getting a dashcam solely to record and report people who drive like expatriates from GTA, though.)
Thanks, all.
posted by desert outpost at 9:16 AM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
I did feel some brief guilt over reporting, since I know many/most Uber drivers are just desperately trying to make money. But then I decided I was being like Mr. Singer in the first thirty seconds of this clip (warning: Woody Allen, fuck Woody Allen), and stopped feeling bad.
As for involving the police, I'm afraid LAPD has better things to deal with than reckless driving, particularly recklessness that was not captured on video. (I have definitely fantasized about getting a dashcam solely to record and report people who drive like expatriates from GTA, though.)
Thanks, all.
posted by desert outpost at 9:16 AM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was almost hit (purposefully) by a Lyft driver last year while riding my bike. I contacted Lyft and reported the driver license plate and the Lyft response was that they would not pair with me that driver for rides again. It would have been laughable except that I really felt I almost died that day. Needless today, I have not used rideshare since. Good luck.
posted by ch3ch2oh at 9:36 AM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ch3ch2oh at 9:36 AM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
So to clarify, you don't even know that the other car was working for Uber, you are surmising this based on their driving?
I'm honestly asking, not snarking.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:13 AM on December 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm honestly asking, not snarking.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:13 AM on December 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ancient star at 9:32 PM on December 1, 2017 [6 favorites]