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Last month, a Door Dash delivery driver was raped at gunpoint in Tampa. Another driver for Uber Eats was murdered and dismembered in Pasco County in a way one sheriff called ‘demonic’. WMNF spoke with a personal injury attorney on what needs to be done to protect drivers.
Being a delivery driver is among the ten most dangerous jobs in the nation, according to a study by Advisor Smith.
“There is a complete failure in the industry now to protect these drivers.”
Personal injury attorney Aaron Davis spoke about Uber and Lyft’s role in protecting their drivers. He said that the companies should invest more in making sure that their drivers are safe.
“I think there needs to be more corporate accountability, training, and supervision, and that’s the bottom line. I think companies need to put in place policies so that they know to train their drivers and their employees to protect themselves, to be weary of certain neighborhoods, to encourage surveillance technology.”
However, when asked about what it would take for companies to enact these systems, Davis presented a harsh reality.
“I want to tell you that these companies that employ drivers, whose employees are agents, will have some sort of unified epiphany to do the right thing. But the reality is that they won’t. The thing that will incentivize these companies to do the right thing- there are basically two things. Formal legislation, and the loss of profits.”
Uber’s website highlights features that they claim help to protect drivers, including an Emergency Assistance button in-app that contacts authorities, and GPS tracking for all trips.
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