Sexual Assault By Uber Driver on Teen in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

Walk a mile in your kids shoes. Get off your ass and be a parent. If you have to work so much that you can’t tend to your kids, then you are living beyond your means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the people talking about public transportation, do you really think there’s less risk of sexual assault waiting at a bus stop of walking home after getting off the bus? My teens do ride the public bus but I tell them to make sure it doesn’t look like anyone is following them off the bus. That seems to me a much higher risk. After dark, I’d rather have them take an Uber where the driver is registered, named and tracked — anyone can be on a public bus and get off with you. Same with metro.

And I would much much rather my teen take an Uber home from a party than get in a car with someone that’s been driving or using weed. My kid doesn’t drink or use pot and I have a standing “call me and I’ll pick you up” rule but if for some reason I wasn’t available, Uber is 100% a safer choice.

At the end of the day, ever choice has risks. If your kid takes an Uber to dance lessons because you can’t drive them, is it less risky for them to drop dance? They may replace that healthy activity with a much riskier way to spend their after school time.

Parenting teens is very difficult and there are very few clear answers. I felt like the answers were much more binary when they were preschoolers.

Yes, the bus is absolutely safer. For one, a bus is always safer than a car in terms of accidents. And on or off the bus, you are not shut up in a locked vehicle with a single person. I’m not against sending teens in ubers as a general rule, but the risk is there. In my almost 50yrs on this planet, most of my sketchiest experiences with men have been in cabs/ubers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

Both of my parents worked and never would they have ever put me in a car alone with a stranger. You just don’t want to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

A lot of people.

That’s a lot of stupid people.

Why are we deciding that it’s ok to expect that a teen will get raped in the middle of the day. THIS IS INSANE BEHAVIOR.

My sister, a grown woman, had to escape an Uber because the driver touched her inappropriately.

Getting a ride home is supposed to be safe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

I’m not criticizing, but I do think that if you are not a frequent Uber rider yourself, you do not appreciate how every so often you get a really bad driver - drives horribly, reeks of pot, acts strangely. You can minimize this by only chosing drivers rated above 4.95. Every driver I’ve ever had below 4.9 has something really wrong with them and/or their car. And for the girls especially, ensure they know how to be assertive and that they do not need to talk or answer questions, and that if they feel at ALL uncomfortable, end the ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

A lot of people.

That’s a lot of stupid people.

Why are we deciding that it’s ok to expect that a teen will get raped in the middle of the day. THIS IS INSANE BEHAVIOR.

My sister, a grown woman, had to escape an Uber because the driver touched her inappropriately.

Getting a ride home is supposed to be safe

But it isn’t safe. People expect it because it happens.

[Anonymous]

In wouldn’t do Uber Teen. That’s just advertising to people that there will be a teen in the car. You can still track the ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

I’m not criticizing, but I do think that if you are not a frequent Uber rider yourself, you do not appreciate how every so often you get a really bad driver - drives horribly, reeks of pot, acts strangely. You can minimize this by only chosing drivers rated above 4.95. Every driver I’ve ever had below 4.9 has something really wrong with them and/or their car. And for the girls especially, ensure they know how to be assertive and that they do not need to talk or answer questions, and that if they feel at ALL uncomfortable, end the ride.

You don’t think the boy felt uncomfortable and wanted to end the ride? You think that the ride just automatically ends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In wouldn’t do Uber Teen. That’s just advertising to people that there will be a teen in the car. You can still track the ride.

But, but the working parents? Whatever will they do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

I’m not criticizing, but I do think that if you are not a frequent Uber rider yourself, you do not appreciate how every so often you get a really bad driver - drives horribly, reeks of pot, acts strangely. You can minimize this by only chosing drivers rated above 4.95. Every driver I’ve ever had below 4.9 has something really wrong with them and/or their car. And for the girls especially, ensure they know how to be assertive and that they do not need to talk or answer questions, and that if they feel at ALL uncomfortable, end the ride.

You don’t think the boy felt uncomfortable and wanted to end the ride? You think that the ride just automatically ends?

Well the boy too of course, but as we know, women/girls are especially socialized to be “nice” and this can be taken advantage of.

To end the ride you tell the driver to let you out and end it on the app. If the child doesn’t know how to end the ride early, they shouldn’t be in the uber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

I’m not criticizing, but I do think that if you are not a frequent Uber rider yourself, you do not appreciate how every so often you get a really bad driver - drives horribly, reeks of pot, acts strangely. You can minimize this by only chosing drivers rated above 4.95. Every driver I’ve ever had below 4.9 has something really wrong with them and/or their car. And for the girls especially, ensure they know how to be assertive and that they do not need to talk or answer questions, and that if they feel at ALL uncomfortable, end the ride.

You don’t think the boy felt uncomfortable and wanted to end the ride? You think that the ride just automatically ends?

Well the boy too of course, but as we know, women/girls are especially socialized to be “nice” and this can be taken advantage of.

To end the ride you tell the driver to let you out and end it on the app. If the child doesn’t know how to end the ride early, they shouldn’t be in the uber.

Yeah, that’ll stop the sexual assault!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

I’m not criticizing, but I do think that if you are not a frequent Uber rider yourself, you do not appreciate how every so often you get a really bad driver - drives horribly, reeks of pot, acts strangely. You can minimize this by only chosing drivers rated above 4.95. Every driver I’ve ever had below 4.9 has something really wrong with them and/or their car. And for the girls especially, ensure they know how to be assertive and that they do not need to talk or answer questions, and that if they feel at ALL uncomfortable, end the ride.

You don’t think the boy felt uncomfortable and wanted to end the ride? You think that the ride just automatically ends?

Well the boy too of course, but as we know, women/girls are especially socialized to be “nice” and this can be taken advantage of.

To end the ride you tell the driver to let you out and end it on the app. If the child doesn’t know how to end the ride early, they shouldn’t be in the uber.

I guess the teen who was assaulted should have just ended the app and the assault would have miraculously stopped the moment he clicked on it.

[Anonymous]

I’m shocked at how little sympathy there is in this thread for the Uber driver.

Obviously, no one would do this in a vacuum; the driver obviously suffered from some trauma and was likely the victim of childhood exploitation himself.

No one wants to be a criminal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent of teens and college age kids. We use Uber on occasion to help with driving. Those of you who judge, what are you expecting working parents to do exactly?? Kids need to get to & from school, jobs and activities. That means walking, metro and getting rides from us and sometimes Uber. We don't have family or any other "village" to help with driving so we do use Uber Teen when needed. With Uber Teen all the rides are tracked by us in real time, and we are typically on the phone with our kids too.
Walk a mile in my shoes.

Walk a mile in your kids shoes. Get off your ass and be a parent. If you have to work so much that you can’t tend to your kids, then you are living beyond your means.

+1 you stop work early to go get your kid, arrange for a carpool with a trusted friend, or your kid doesn’t participate in the activity period. 3 other choices than Uber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked at how little sympathy there is in this thread for the Uber driver.

Obviously, no one would do this in a vacuum; the driver obviously suffered from some trauma and was likely the victim of childhood exploitation himself.

No one wants to be a criminal.

Agree. No one wants to be a criminal. Likely the Uber driver suffers from mental illness.

If society had provided the poor Uber driver with the wrap-around services he truly deserves and is entitled to, then his mental illness would never have driven him to commit this alleged situation.