Many people in the Greater Miami area use rideshare services occasionally. Tourists might rely on rideshare services to get where they need to go without renting a vehicle. Local residents may turn to rideshare apps for a safe ride home from a wedding reception or to a job interview in a neighborhood they don’t know well.
The average person arranging for a rideshare trip expects to reach their destination safely. Although safety reports released by rideshare companies indicate that more than 99% of trips end without any kind of safety issue, there is still reason for concern. Yet, for the percentage of rideshare passengers who have a safety issue during their trip, rideshare services may not meet their expectations in meaningful – and even truly harmful – ways. What should people know about rideshare crash risk?
Professional drivers develop bad habits
Some people become better drivers as they spend more time on the road. The more stressful situations motorists encounter, the more able they are to respond to unusual traffic scenarios. However, those who provide rideshare services as a source of income often drive very aggressively. The more rides they can secure, the more they make. Therefore, they might break the law by speeding as they get passengers to their destinations. They might cut others off in traffic and drive more aggressively than the average person.
Those bad habits might help them secure more passengers and better tips, but they could also lead to collisions. Contrary to the assumption that rideshare services improve traffic safety, they may actually increase crash risk in some cases. As many as a third of rideshare drivers admit to experiencing a crash while working. Many of those collisions may have been preventable.
It is also worth noting that the two main rideshare companies have not released safety reports in several years, which might indicate there has been an uptick in assaults committed by rideshare drivers and crashes involving rideshare vehicles.
Those involved in rideshare collisions are often in a difficult situation. They may be uncertain about their options for covering their losses. Factors ranging from timing to fault play a major role in determining what options for compensation someone has available. Understanding that rideshare collisions occur more frequently than the companies want the public to know can help people assert themselves after a crash with the assistance of a skilled legal team.