Uber could have done more to stop shooter
On Feb. 20 an Uber driver killed six people in between picking up customers.
According to reports, one passenger even filed complaints against him for reckless driving the morning of the shooting.
Uber has defended themselves, stating that they perform background checks on all of their drivers. They have also said that the reason they did not immediately reply to the complaint was because it was for reckless driving and not physical violence.
We The Threefold Advocate believe that Uber needs to go beyond criminal background checks and ensure that the person is mentally stable and qualified to drive for them. It is possible for a person to have no criminal history, but still be a dangerous person. This case makes that very clear.
We The Threefold Advocate believe that the solution to going beyond a criminal background check is to interview those who the drivers live around and to require drivers to go through a mental health screening.
In regards to Uber’s defense for not checking into the complaint immediately, it partially checks out. The company focuses its immediate attention on physical violence, which it should.
However, this complaint was made five hours before the first person was killed. Therefore, we think they had plenty of time to respond. The complaint was for reckless driving, which a legal dictionary defines as operating a vehicle in a dangerous manner. We understand that physical violence takes precedent, but reckless driving can kill people as well. Therefore, Uber should respond in a timely manner after they receive a complaint.
We the Threefold Advocate understand that all of this will be more work for Uber. However, Uber needs to make sure that their customers are safe.
From a business standpoint, if they do not solve these problems they will lose their customer base because people will not feel safe.
Therefore, We The Threefold Advocate believe that Uber needs to do more to screen drivers and to respond in a timely manner to complaints.