Sexual Assault By Uber Driver on Teen in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I’m not sure my 16 year old daughter is better off riding with some boy from her high school versus an Uber driver. She has probably been more at risk for assault her whole life by someone I would have considered a friend, neighbor, or relative. If I had divorced and remarried, she would likely have been most at risk from stepdad. People are terrible at actually calculating risks.

I’m not trying to say “yes, let’s all send our teens out in an Uber alone,” but really the hysterics over this are unnecessary.

THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you can keep kids completely safe and given the built in accountability Uber seems reasonable to me.

Like coaches abuse kids and we still do sports, we’re just careful. But it’s not like we’ve cut out 100% of sports abuse.

Yes, but I would not let my child be alone 1:1 with a coach either. And many programs have rules requiring 2 adults to be present if there is only minor.

Putting your teen into an uber is WAY different than enrolling them in a sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP this is a serious allegation. Can you send us a link to the police report? Can you give us information about how common this is to back up your allegation that this happens a lot?

Don't believe me if you don't want to. I don't really care.

Clearly you do.

+1

NP. Why make a PSA post and say you won't be checking in, but you actually do and when someone asks a question give them a response like believe me or don't?

[Anonymous]

Do you feel safe alone in an Uber? I’ll be honest, I get nervous as a short female when I’m alone. I would have the same worry for my daughter and she’s not allowed to take them alone. I do not have the same concerns for my teen son or husband when they are alone in Ubers. I understand assault can happen to anyone but my son was 6 feet tall and looked like a grown man at 15. These stories are so scary. I feel terrible happened to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Do you all still send your kids to school each day knowing they can be gunned down?

Everything has a risk. Some parents can only do LYFT/Ubers to get their kids to sports and other events. Especially single parents. The judging on here is insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who puts a teen in a car alone with a stranger?

Jesus so judgmental. Teens ride in Ubers all the time. For sports and social stuff.

Then you put them in danger.

They're in danger leaving thr house every day. But you let them leave right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I’m not sure my 16 year old daughter is better off riding with some boy from her high school versus an Uber driver. She has probably been more at risk for assault her whole life by someone I would have considered a friend, neighbor, or relative. If I had divorced and remarried, she would likely have been most at risk from stepdad. People are terrible at actually calculating risks.

I’m not trying to say “yes, let’s all send our teens out in an Uber alone,” but really the hysterics over this are unnecessary.

+1. Literally every post I've ever seen anywhere when a child is harmed has one person that blames the parents or caregivers. It's a defense mechanism for stupid people.

[Anonymous]

Uber is a shitty concept. Especially for teens. I get that the convenience is a new innovation for the suburbs, but a regulated public agency is the better way to go. Cities have been doing this forever.

If you choose to live in the suburbs, then you are deciding that you are willing to drive your kids around. If you don’t want that, move to the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guys it is not the fault of anyone EXCEPT the perpetrator. Why we are we blaming parents.

No one is blaming but they made a poor choice and that should be brought to attention as well.

They did not make a poor choice because their 16 year old son took an Uber.

[Anonymous]

Why is this okay??? Punishment should be extreme for this man. Examples should be made. If sexual assault was sufficiently punished, it would happen less. Monsters who do this to children should be castrated as a start.

I can’t imagine how much this one event will change the rest of this poor teen’s life. Horrific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who puts a teen in a car alone with a stranger?

Millions of people, all the time. What are you going to do? Chaperone your child to college?

Not that poster but my kids drive alone every day. I would not want them in an Uber.

Statistics will show your teen is more likely to be the victim of a carjacking while driving alone than assault by an Uber driver.

Uber has a safety record of 99.9% . The victims of incidents are usually the Uber driver getting robbed by teenagers or even killed. So don’t be ridiculous

Was this reported anywhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you all still send your kids to school each day knowing they can be gunned down?

Everything has a risk. Some parents can only do LYFT/Ubers to get their kids to sports and other events. Especially single parents. The judging on here is insane.

I agree it’s absolutely nuts. , There’s no information on this so called incident. Did the Uber Driver drive into a private area? Was there a weapon or was the teen able to get out of the car? Not a reliable report.

Just google DC Uber assaults and you’ll see it’s almost always the driver assaulted by teens not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who puts a teen in a car alone with a stranger?

Millions of people, all the time. What are you going to do? Chaperone your child to college?

Not that poster but my kids drive alone every day. I would not want them in an Uber.

Statistics will show your teen is more likely to be the victim of a carjacking while driving alone than assault by an Uber driver.

Uber has a safety record of 99.9% . The victims of incidents are usually the Uber driver getting robbed by teenagers or even killed. So don’t be ridiculous

Was this reported anywhere?

Yes. It was. The police are involved.

[Anonymous]

I know people will call me an idiot but Uber seems comparatively safe compared to other options. My kids also take metro, bus, walk or bike places. I think those are all probably more dangerous than Uber. The Uber drivers know they are tracked so they will 100% get caught. That’s a serious disincentive. And unlike other people who know they are 100% identifiable (coaches, etc.), they don’t have the time to do the grooming in takes to silence a victim.

I do generally drive my kids places but there are sometimes I can’t and there is a cost to telling her “you can’t do this competition because I can’t drive you there.”

Sexual assault is awful awful awful. I just don’t see Uber as any more dangerous than any of the many other things we let our teens do. If she wasn’t doing this competition and taking an Uber, she might be out at a house party with friends which likely had a much higher risk of sexual assault, or hanging out with her friends near a coffee shop or park, again probably a higher risk. So I trade off some risk in letting her take an Uber to something that I think is constructive etc. rather to get the benefits of that activity which probably minimizes some other risks (depression, drug use, etc.). And hope to God I’ve made the right call, just like with all these difficult parenting decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who puts a teen in a car alone with a stranger?

Millions of people, all the time. What are you going to do? Chaperone your child to college?

Not that poster but my kids drive alone every day. I would not want them in an Uber.

Statistics will show your teen is more likely to be the victim of a carjacking while driving alone than assault by an Uber driver.

Uber has a safety record of 99.9% . The victims of incidents are usually the Uber driver getting robbed by teenagers or even killed. So don’t be ridiculous

Was this reported anywhere?

Yes. It was. The police are involved.

If the driver is arrested it will be public information.