Uber and Lyft team up to expose drivers accused of assault

Uber and Lyft are teaming up to make sure monsters that have been kicked from their platforms stay off their platforms.

The two announced a partnership Thursday with background check company HireRight to create a database of drivers who have been disabled for serious offenses, including physical and sexual assault, as part of their new Safety Sharing program in the ‘industry. Passenger safety concerns have preoccupied Uber and Lyft for years, along with dozens of complaints and lawsuits claiming companies have failed filter drivers correctly and ban those who have multiple hits to break the rules.

The program is initially rolled out in the United States, and other transportation and delivery services may join the data-sharing system in the future, as long as they agree to and adhere to the same privacy guarantees as Uber. and Lyft.

“You have to be safe no matter which rideshare platform you choose,” said Tony West, senior vice president and general counsel at Uber. A press release. “Tackling these difficult security issues is more important than any of us and this new industry security sharing program demonstrates the value of working collaboratively with experts, advocates and experts. ‘others to make a significant difference. We are encouraging more businesses to join us. ”

The drivers of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are largely considered independent contractors, not employees, which means they can drive and often drive for both companies.

A third party, HireRight, will collect and manage all data shared between these companies and ensure that all parties meet the industry standards outlined by the National Resource Center on Sexual Violence. By The Associated Press, information about the victims will not be shared in the database and the incidents that led to the dismissal of a driver are divided into six broad categories: attempted non-consensual sexual penetration; non-consensual touching of a sexual part of the body; non-consensual kisses of a sexual part of the body; non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual body part; non-consensual sexual penetration; and fatal physical assaults.

“We would share the basis for the deactivation, as well as the driver’s credentials just enough for other companies to find that person on their platform, nothing else,” West said in an interview with NBC.

Incidents of sexual assault and harassment notoriously under-stated to the police, making reporting unsafe drivers especially important as they can go under the radar with traditional background checks that often rely on legal records. The nonprofit victims’ rights group, the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, which previously criticized Uber and Lyft for the lack of rigorous driver screening processes, praised the companies for coming together in the name of passenger safety.

“Sexual violence thrives in secrecy,” Scott Berkowitz, chairman and founder of the group, said in the press release. “Thanks to this initiative, perpetrators will no longer be able to hide or escape responsibility by simply changing their carpooling platform.”

Both Uber and Lyft have rolled out a host of safety features over the past few years, including in-app panic buttons and additional ways for passengers to check their drivers. But critics say these precautions are long overdue. In 2018, CNN found that 103 Uber drivers and 18 Lyft drivers had been charged with assault or sexual abuse in the past four years. In the business very first safety report, Uber revealed that it received 3,045 reports of sexual assault while traveling in 2018. In the same year, nine people were murdered and 58 killed in automobile crashes. Lyft has also racked up several lawsuits from women. handling sexual assault complaints and allegations that he did not do enough to protect passengers from dangerous drivers.