There is a part of rideshare safety that passengers do not hear nearly enough about:
The rules apply to you too.
Drivers constantly hear about the things that can get us suspended or deactivated. Unsafe driving. Harassment. Discrimination. Drugs or alcohol. Fraud. Improper behavior.
What passengers may not realize is that Uber and Lyft also have rules governing what riders can do while using their services.
And yes, illegal activity can cost a rider access to the platform.
Uber specifically prohibits using its platform to commit crimes, including transporting illegal drugs, money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other unlawful activity.
That means your rideshare driver is not supposed to become part of whatever else you have going on.
We are transportation providers.
We are not your courier for illegal substances.
We are not your lookout.
We are not your getaway vehicle.
And we are certainly not volunteering to become an unwitting mule because somebody thinks ordering an Uber somehow puts a layer of insulation between themselves and whatever they are doing.
Drivers Notice More Than Some Riders Think
After enough time driving, patterns become noticeable.
A passenger may behave strangely.
There may be unexplained stops.
Someone may want to make a quick handoff.
A rider may carry something into the vehicle and immediately hand it to someone at another location.
A trip may begin or end at a location where the circumstances already put the driver on alert.
None of those things, by themselves, prove a crime.
Drivers should not pretend to be police officers or investigators.
But drivers also do not have to ignore circumstances that reasonably make them concerned about their own safety or about being pulled into somebody else’s illegal activity.
If something about a trip concerns a driver, the proper response is to document what actually happened and report the safety concern through the platform.
Report the conduct.
Report the circumstances.
Do not invent the conclusion.
Changing Your Name Does Not Make the Problem Go Away
Something else experienced drivers occasionally notice is a passenger appearing under different names or accounts.
There can be legitimate explanations for that. Someone else may have requested the ride, for example.
But repeated changes in identity combined with repeated questionable behavior are going to attract attention from drivers.
Platforms also prohibit fraudulent or illegitimate account behavior.
If somebody has repeatedly caused drivers problems and simply believes that creating another account or changing identifying information resets everything, that should be a concern for the platform as well.
Drivers should report suspicious account behavior when they encounter it rather than attempting to determine for themselves exactly why the account changed.
What Happens in Your Ride Can Affect the Driver After You Leave
There is another consequence passengers may never consider.
You can leave the vehicle.
The driver cannot.
If a passenger leaves behind drugs, residue, an unidentified package, an open container, or even a strong odor associated with drugs or alcohol, the next passenger may believe it belongs to the driver.
Uber itself warns drivers that odors of alcohol or drugs — even when left behind by passengers — can potentially be interpreted as evidence of impairment and can result in an account being temporarily placed on hold while the situation is investigated.
Think about that.
A passenger can create a problem, get out of the vehicle, and continue with their evening.
The driver may then have their livelihood interrupted because the next customer reports what they found or smelled.
That is why drivers have every reason to take these situations seriously.
An Uber Is Not a Shield From Responsibility
Ordering a rideshare does not make illegal activity acceptable.
It does not transfer the risk to the driver.
And it does not obligate the driver to participate.
If a driver believes something unsafe or prohibited is occurring, that driver can report the incident to the platform and, when circumstances warrant it, contact law enforcement.
Drivers should not confront people unnecessarily.
They should not play detective.
They should not make unsupported accusations.
But they should absolutely protect themselves.
Because the basic rule is remarkably simple:
Your driver agreed to transport you.
Your driver did not agree to participate in whatever else you might be doing.
And passengers need to understand that violating platform rules can have consequences for their accounts just as violating those rules can have consequences for ours.