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CDC study finds rideshare passengers face higher injury risks

By Steve Mehaffie, WHIO.com and Cody Butler
By Steve Mehaffie, WHIO.com and Cody Butler

DAYTON — People using rideshares are at an increased risk of getting injured in a crash.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study shows the odds are up more than 4 percent compared to traditional experts.

News Center 7’s Cody Butler spoke with lawyers about what you should do to protect yourself.

Lawyers told News Center 7 they are seeing more cases of people getting injured in Ubers or Lyfts as they become more common.

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They said the more steps you take before you’re in the car, the better the outcome.

Tyler Jolly of Morgan and Morgan said, “Passengers are typically not causing a crash.” Jolly said he’s seen many cases where passengers were injured in crashes simply for riding in an Uber or Lyft.

“It’s becoming more and more prevalent because Uber and Lyft are everywhere now and people are taking Uber and Lyft all day, every day,” Jolly said.

He said since the rideshare platforms legally refer to drivers as independent contractors, it gets complicated if there’s a crash.

“You have multiple parties involved, and you have multiple insurance companies that are involved,” Jolly said. He said it’s important that you keep records.

“It’s important again to document that you are in the middle of a ride. By screenshotting your app to be able to prove that down the road that this driver was in the midst of performing ride-sharing services for you at the time of the crash,” Jolly said.

Jeremiah Foison, who rides Uber, said, “I’ll use it to get my haircut. Pretty much everyone needs to go and wants to go.”

Foison said he’s never been in a crash while riding in an Uber, but it’s something he thinks about.

“You never know. There’s people these days that crash into other people, that don’t follow the rules on the streets. That be on the phone or be pretty much not even looking at the street. It’s very dangerous,” Foison said.

That’s why he does what Jolly recommends. “I take a picture of it, and then I pretty much ask him a few questions. I even record him asking a few questions, so I have it,” Foison said.

Jolly said sometimes these cases can take several months or even years to play out.

“If you rush into a situation or rush to resolve your case, that may not be full and fair compensation for your injuries,” Jolly said.

News Center 7 reached out to Uber and Lyft to see what they recommend riders do. Both said they watch rides for unusual activity and will contact you to check in.

Here is what Uber provided to News Center 7:

  • As a platform that facilitates movement, we’re committed to being a leader in road safety.
  • Riders and drivers can report any incident or accident via the app - our safety team reviews this information constantly and investigates any issues.
    • More information on crash reporting here.
  • We maintain a $1M+ insurance policy: TNCs maintain $1 million in liability coverage per trip, 20 times the state minimum in Ohio, protecting drivers, riders, and third parties. This policy complies with relevant state laws, which require a $1M insurance policy. More on insurance here.
  • Safety is a top priority. We’ve developed a number of safety features for riders and drivers in the app over the past several years:
    • Emergency button: available all around the world. Riders and drivers can either call (available everywhere) or text 911 (where available) 911 through the app.
    • 911 integration in 1800+ jurisdictions: If a rider or driver uses the emergency button in one of these cities, our tech and partnership with Rapid SOS enables key trip details to be digitally sent to 911 dispatchers, including the caller’s name, make and model of the Uber car, license plate, and GPS. Read more about it HERE.
    • “Live Help” from a Safety Agent: For situations that don’t require police, fire, or medical, Uber users can request a call or text from an ADT agent who can stay on the phone for the duration of the trip and can reach out to 911 if necessary. GPS Tracking: Every trip is tracked.
    • RideCheck helps make sure drivers and riders are OK in the event of a possible crash or unexpected long stop.
    • Trusted Contacts: Riders can choose to be prompted automatically to share their trip with loved ones. Available globally. Video HERE.
  • We have a team of former law enforcement professionals around the globe who are on call to work with police 24-7 to respond to urgent needs and walk them through how we can assist in an investigation. This team works to proactively educate law enforcement about how to reach us and get the information they need through a valid legal process. Here is a video about our Law Enforcement Outreach team.

Lyft provided the following links regarding ride safety and about how to report an accident:

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