Uber said in a safety report Thursday that sexual assault on vehicles was significantly reduced from previous reports, but fatal car accidents increased.
According to the company, 3,824 sexual assaults were reported on US platforms in 2019 and 2020, 20 were killed in the assault and 101 were killed in the crash.
This report was a sequel to Uber’s first report released in 2019. The company promised to release a report every two years, but said the new review was delayed due to a pandemic-related 2020 data delay. National Highway Traffic Safety Bureau.. Uber uses agency methodologies and data standards to analyze vehicle fatalities.
Reported sexual assaults were down from 5,981 in 2017 and 2018, although the number of trips recorded in 2020 was much lower due to the pandemic. Reported sexual assaults were reduced by 38 percent.
The number of deaths from the assault increased from nine in the previous period, as well as the fatal accident that killed 58 people in 2017 and 2018. Backed by data from NHTSA..
According to NHTSA, the number of deaths increased during the pandemic, which was the worst year since 2007, partly due to speed violations on less crowded highways. Most of the two-year Uber-related vehicle deaths occurred in 2019, but the percentage was higher in 2020.
According to the company, 99.9% of Uber rides are successful, and only 0.0002% of all rides contain one of the serious safety issues described in the report. The data does not include injured people, only rides are aggregated, and food delivery on Uber Eats is not included.
Uber tried to reconstruct that image, and releasing safety data was seen as a key element of its transformation.
In recent years, the company has added safety options such as the ability for drivers to shoot vehicles and for both drivers and riders to record audio from drivers with the Uber app. Uber said more than 500,000 driver candidates did not pass the screening process in 2019 and 2020, and more than 80,000 drivers were removed from the app as a result of continuous criminal record checks. ..
“Secrets aren’t safe for everyone,” Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re stepping up to companies across the industry and calling on the public to be honest about safety records.”
“By confronting this issue and consistently counting reports, we can work together to end sexual violence,” he added.
In recent months, driver advocacy groups and MPs have pressured gig companies to improve driver safety, and one report estimates that at least 50 gig drivers have been killed since 2017. 2019 and 2020 — 14 crashes and 5 assaults.
Uber works with insurance companies to help drivers with accidents and injuries, and in some legally mandated states, they directly indemnify drivers, said Andrew Hasbun, a company spokesman. .. He said the company is also working with a national network of rape, abuse and incest to provide a Uber-only hotline for survivors of sexual assault.
Uber was unable to provide figures for Uber drivers’ Covid-19 infections or deaths, but allocated $ 50 million worldwide to safety products such as masks and hand sanitizers, and drivers affected by Covid. Said that he gave more than $ 40 million in aid.
Uber categorizes reported sexual assaults into five categories, including non-consensual kisses, rapes, and attempted rapes. The maximum number of reports was “non-consensual contact of sexual body parts”.
In all five categories, suspects and targets were broadly divided between riders and drivers. Drivers were accused of assault in 56% of cases and riders were accused of assault in 43%. Drivers were 39% victims and riders 61%.
Indira Henard, a member of Uber’s Safety Advisory Board and Managing Director of the DC Rape Crisis Center, can dispel the stigma of underreported types of crime by disclosing data on sexual assault. Said.
“By making safety records transparent, Uber aims to stop the silence over gender-based violence,” Dr. Henard said in an interview.
