Uber Background Checks Missed Drivers' Criminal Records

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Yikes! What good is a background check if it misses cool stuff like murder convictions and sexual assaults ?

One of the Uber drivers highlighted in the amended complaint was convicted of second-degree murder in Los Angeles in 1982, prosecutors said. He was released on parole in 2008 after spending 26 years in prison, but a background check generated for Uber in 2014 failed to reveal the criminal history for the driver, who provided 1,168 rides, prosecutors said.
 
I always assumed Uber didn't even bother with background checks, I guess I'm half right.
 
I've been amazed at how well Uber is doing.

It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

Yah taxi services cost more, but these guys are licensed and insured to carry passengers.

Maybe Imma caveman but i would never use Uber over a traditional taxi service. Maybe I haven't look into Uber enough, is there something else that is offers that Yellow Cab doesn't?
 
I've been amazed at how well Uber is doing.

It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

Yah taxi services cost more, but these guys are licensed and insured to carry passengers.

Maybe Imma caveman but i would never use Uber over a traditional taxi service. Maybe I haven't look into Uber enough, is there something else that is offers that Yellow Cab doesn't?

As a former limousine service owner, this industry is heavily regulated for very good reasons.
 
I've been amazed at how well Uber is doing.

It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

Yah taxi services cost more, but these guys are licensed and insured to carry passengers.

Maybe Imma caveman but i would never use Uber over a traditional taxi service. Maybe I haven't look into Uber enough, is there something else that is offers that Yellow Cab doesn't?

I dont have Uber in my area so Ive never used it but I have heard that the cars can be much nicer/more comfortable than a Yellow Cab. Also I have heard of people who have used Uber gave gotten complimentary snacks.
 
It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

i agree 100%
 
Cost is another thing. Catching an uber is far far cheaper than taking a regular union flunky taxi. Uber drivers also are in cleaner vehicles and cleaner themselves. My experience.
 
I've been amazed at how well Uber is doing.

It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

Yah taxi services cost more, but these guys are licensed and insured to carry passengers.

Maybe Imma caveman but i would never use Uber over a traditional taxi service. Maybe I haven't look into Uber enough, is there something else that is offers that Yellow Cab doesn't?

You are no safer with a taxi than you are with Uber.
 
As a former limousine service owner, this industry is heavily regulated for very good reasons.

Yes, to protect the establishment...not the consumer.

I've used Uber, Lyft, and Taxi's in the course of my travels. If I have an option, I will use Uber almost always. Cleaner, better service, and overall a much better experience.
 
I've been amazed at how well Uber is doing.

It's funny to me how so many people are up in arms about their personal security when it comes to the Internet (data mining, hacking, identity theft). But yet these same people are willing to use a service where they get into car where the driver can be almost maniac with a car and a smartphone.

Yah taxi services cost more, but these guys are licensed and insured to carry passengers.

Maybe Imma caveman but i would never use Uber over a traditional taxi service. Maybe I haven't look into Uber enough, is there something else that is offers that Yellow Cab doesn't?

I have taken Uber a lot. Cabs are terrible by comparison. Ubers are cleaner and more comfortable. Your chances of getting an asshole driver who smells awful and is yelling on his bluetooth in some foreign language for your entire ride are nil with Uber.

When you're in an Uber, your entire ride is also being tracked via GPS... so at least they can find your body later if something happens :D A cab? There's no record that you ever even flagged one down, and certainly not of where you went. The idea that cabs are "safe" and that the drivers never commit crimes (e.g., robbery, rape, etc.) against their riders is absurd.
 
Background checks are not going to be 100% unless you hire a private investigator or something similar. Even a PI could miss something that a clerk somewhere forgot to record 30 years ago. The company doing the background check could have made a mistake and someone accidentally clicked the box that said this guy had no criminal record.

Someone I know went to school to be a police officer and applied for a job as an officer. The background check was extremely through and time consuming. The paperwork he had to fill for the check was almost 100 pages. They wanted to know every school he attended and every group he was ever affiliated with. The department interviewed his parents and others close to him. The police chief even drove down to the college he attended to talk to them. The department spent thousands and thousands of dollars on the background check. He did get hired.

I don't expect Uber to do that level of background check. Nobody would work for Uber if they did that kind of check as it is very lengthy and very invasive for the applicant. Uber would be broke if they spent that kind of money just on background checks.
 
I dont have Uber in my area so Ive never used it but I have heard that the cars can be much nicer/more comfortable than a Yellow Cab. Also I have heard of people who have used Uber gave gotten complimentary snacks.
That is until people with the nicer cars and give out snacks realize they're losing money driving for Uber at current rates and stop driving, or if are too dumb to realize it, run out of money maintaining their vehicle.

Then you end up with the vehicles worse than taxis.
 
I know a cab driver in Vegas with two assaults and an armed robbery from 28 years ago on his record. Granted, he's paid his debt to society and is a genuinely good guy...so I have no problem with it. He does, however, prove that any background checks done by the mafia...errr...cab companies is pretty worthless too.
 
Is Lyft having some of the same issues? If so, why are they not being hammered on like Uber is?
 
Back
Top