Sexual Assault By Uber Driver on Teen in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I agree with this completely. There are risks and tradeoffs to any choice. Statistically, Uber seems much safer to me than many other common teen activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

There’s really no need to worry. It’s wasted energy. I take them and a lot of times it’s an older man whose English is his second language. Most of them like to talk, practice their English and tell stories about their country. I like to listen.

It because we never hear about the 50,000 rides that were perfectly normal, we only hear about one and think it’s more common that it is.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone figure out if it was Uber Teen or “regular”Uber?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think you are wrong. Ubering puts you into total isolation with a stranger in a car. Metro/bus/walking is almost certainly much safer especially when you add in risk of accidents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

There’s really no need to worry. It’s wasted energy. I take them and a lot of times it’s an older man whose English is his second language. Most of them like to talk, practice their English and tell stories about their country. I like to listen.

It because we never hear about the 50,000 rides that were perfectly normal, we only hear about one and think it’s more common that it is.

I am car free and uber/taxi a lot. Every 20 rides or so you get a real weirdo. There’s no getting around it - you are shut up in a car with a strange man. Uber is more convenient, but less safe than Metro and bus. By comparison I’ve had maybe 2 very sketchy bus/metro incidents in my entire life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don't. I took Ubers when they first came out and I had this strong feeling that I was overriding like 20 years of the safety instincts I had developed over years of being a woman.

I think they are inherently unsafe for women, and that there is nothing stopping a predator who now can very easily just get a woman to jump into his car whenever he wants

I take cabs all the time and find them very safe. There people are much more accountable.

I uninstalled Uber and Lyft years ago and haven't been alone in an Uber of Lyft since then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I agree with this completely. There are risks and tradeoffs to any choice. Statistically, Uber seems much safer to me than many other common teen activities.

I feel safer in an Uber with record of the driver rather than a regular taxi I hail off the street.

That being said, I don’t want my teens in Ubers alone.

[Anonymous]

I don’t want my kids to be timid and scared of life. Yes they need to know safety rules and what to do and what not to do. But to be scared of a company who verifies their drivers, does criminal checks, their driving records, their work records isn’t rationale. They also have to pass a yearly check.

My daughter takes Ubers from her classes in NYC to her job which ends around midnight and takes an Uber back to her apartment. She started this routine at 17. Same with her classmates. Perfectly safe although that doesn’t mean there’s a guarantee that nothing will ever happen. Nothing does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

The US really is a dystopian hell-scape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I agree with this completely. There are risks and tradeoffs to any choice. Statistically, Uber seems much safer to me than many other common teen activities.

Like what other teen activities? There are other ways of getting a teen to a location besides isolating them alone in a vehicle with a stranger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son and friends have taken Uber all
over town since they were 15.
Statistically, they are FAR, FAR more likely to be sexually assaulted by a coach, teacher, other parent or peer then they are by an Uber driver.

Like is 100 fold more likely that my kid will be raped in a school locker room than in the back of an Uber.

We can't bubble wrap our kids.

Kids who don’t take Uber alone are not bubble wrapped. They have to have teachers and peers. They don’t have to ride with strangers. Keep reaching.

Why is it preferable to get raped by a teacher or a peer than a Uber driver?

Idiot, they have to have teachers and peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

The US really is a dystopian hell-scape.

Not sure what makes you say this as a response to this post. The poster is right. How do you think people do it in other countries, did it before Uber...?

[Anonymous]

Riding uber is an activity with non-zero risk, as is riding in a cab. I am comfortable taking that risk to achieve the benefit of having needed transportation. When I can drive my 15-year-old, I do. I have let him use Uber teen on one occasion, and am still comfortable with that choice after hearing this story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Riding uber is an activity with non-zero risk, as is riding in a cab. I am comfortable taking that risk to achieve the benefit of having needed transportation. When I can drive my 15-year-old, I do. I have let him use Uber teen on one occasion, and am still comfortable with that choice after hearing this story.

Mmmkay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

The US really is a dystopian hell-scape.

Not sure what makes you say this as a response to this post. The poster is right. How do you think people do it in other countries, did it before Uber...?

You can’t be serious. Other countries that aren’t completely and utterly beholden to the auto industry use a combination of reliable public transportation (busses, trains, subways, trams), safe walking paths, and safe biking paths. Even outside of major cities!