# Lyft/Uber coverage- what if pax not wearing seatbelt in an accident?



## Zardoz (Jan 8, 2017)

Hey all , i have heard that lyft and ubers insurance policy is pretty good for covering accidents (i do understand that you need to be honest with your personal insurer that you are driving rideshare , otherwise you risk having them deny any claims in the event of an accident ) . 

one BIG concern i have with either insurance though is just pax pushing their luck / not listening when they get into your car . 

the main example is pax not putting on their seatbelts : time and again , pax will get into the car , and i will remind them to buckle up . 

now , most any adult knows that these days -- click it or ticket , etc. ( but they're not the ones getting the ticket, are they ? ) . and i've had plenty of pax who have NOT put on their seatbelt , even when i've asked . i suppose you could play parental hardball , say i'm not gonna drive until you put on your seatbelt, only to have them laugh at you , refuse , rate you poorly after, etc. 

but what if you get into a fender bender / accident and the pax isn't wearing their seatbelt ? could lyft/uber deny the claim ? could the pax -- or their family -- sue us as a driver ?

may be overthinking things here , just wondered if anyone knows the fine print , if lyft / uber have prepared for this , or if anything has any horror stories .


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

I calmly and politely say "Everyone needs to be buckled up before we can roll." And then I sit there. They can buckle up, or they can get out. I'm cool either way. So far, compliance has been 100%. I thank them when the seatbelt light goes off. "Thanks, now we can be on our way!"

Note: Passive voice is less confrontational than imperative ("Buckle up!"). No "I" or "you" for the same reason. No "... or else" for the same reason. It's not about me _being controlling _or _being the boss of you _and it's not about pax _being a bad boy _or _testing boundaries_, it's just the way things are.

I don't know about CA, but in TX the pax gets the ticket if they aren't belted in.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

In Georgia, anyone over the age of 18 is not required to wear a seat belt in the back seat.

The front seat pax has to wear it and the annoying beeping usually gets them to buckle up rather quickly.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Zardoz said:


> Hey all , i have heard that lyft and ubers insurance policy is pretty good for covering accidents (i do understand that you need to be honest with your personal insurer thayou are driving rideshare , otherwise you risk having them deny any claims in the event of an accident ) .
> 
> one BIG concern i have with either insurance though is just pax pushing their luck / not listening when they get into your car .
> 
> ...


I'm not a lawyer, but I've heard that while people can sue for any reason, it's about money. So the deep pockets are going to be Uber/Lyft or the insurer of the other driver if he/she was at fault. Any settlement for injuries might be adjusted due to contributing negligence on the part of the pax for refusal to wear a seatbelt. In private vehicles, the driver can be cited, from what I understand, but in taxis a driver isn't cited if a fare paying pax isn't belted in. Whether a rideshare driver in similar circumstances is responsible might be up to the courts.
How about not starting the trip until everyone is belted in, and politely cancelling if the pax refuse? They can't rate you if you don't complete the trip, right? And immediately notify Uber/Lyft the reason you kicked them out.


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## Zardoz (Jan 8, 2017)

OK, yeah it's a balance ... obviously this line of work is a numbers game , the more rides you do , the more money you make ... so naturally , it can be difficult to remember to insist that every fare wears their seatbelts every time (especially driving at night , where I have literally had drunk girls stand up on their seat to shake their ass out the window , or romantic dates where one person is getting especially friendly with the other ... ) .

And of course , if you have to remind them , they could literally refuse , or give you a bad rating after the fact for treating them like children. either way , no matter how cool they are , i have no problem giving someone a bad rating and commenting on it if i have told them to buckle up , and they don't. 

Just curious , anyone know the policy if some pax gets injured because they were not wearing your seatbelt after you asked them ? Have any rideshare drivers ever been successfully sued by the pax for injuries sustained due to their own negligence ?

that said , I think I may just try to downplay my earnings with pax from now on - i.e., i'm a struggling actor , etc - so they know i'm not exactly mr. moneybags should they get injured , and come looking for a payout ...


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

California is different, you've had burglars sue home owners for getting hurt while trying to rob their homes. So the likelihood of a pax who refused to put on a seat belt, getting hurt then suing you is probably high. The risk of doing business it may seem. In states with common sense laws, if an adult decides to not wear a seatbelt in the back seat, that's on them, however, if you caused the accident you are probably just as liable for damages regardless if they had a seatbelt on or not. Whiplash, bruised ribs, etc etc... the 1kk liability insurance should cover most damages pax sustain.


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