Every time you get into a car, you know that safety isn’t guaranteed. In an Uber, you're not even in control — your safety is in another driver's hands. Thankfully, Uber is working to make every trip taken using the app a little safer with a brand-new feature.
Uber drivers will now receive a post-ride report card (“post-trip notes”) on their apps, evaluating the safety of their driving. These will alert drivers to any excessive breaking, swerving, or acceleration patterns. In many cities, they should expect speeding alerts on highways, as well, Buzzfeed News reports. Every day, drivers will also be given an in-app report to show how they compare to fellow Uber drivers and the app will remind drivers to take breaks to rest, so as to prevent accidents caused by exhaustion.
According to Buzzfeed News, in addition to helping you have a safe trip, the data collected for this feature will also record driving patterns, which will be used as research for Uber’s forthcoming self-driving car. But the biggest part for you and me is that Uber will no longer have to rely solely on passenger ratings to see if drivers are being safe. This will help defend drivers against dishonest reports of speeding or other erratic driving and help corroborate passenger reports when driver behaviour is unsafe. That one Uber driver whose driving always makes you nauseous could soon be out of a job.