# Safety Issues with ride-share vehicles



## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

*One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests*
*CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*

By Ryan Felton
May 21, 2019

Among the tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft vehicles registered to operate in New York City, there's a 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS with eight unaddressed safety recalls that range from a potential seat-belt detachment to even more alarming examples, such as possible engine failure.

Millions of riders rely on ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft for daily transportation. But according to a Consumer Reports review of data from New York City and the Seattle area, a notable number of ride-hail vehicles registered for Uber and Lyft service, about 1 in 6, carry unaddressed safety defects.

"Uber and Lyft are letting down their customers and jeopardizing their trust," says William Wallace, a CR safety policy advocate. "Uber's website says people can 'ride with confidence,' while Lyft promises 'peace of mind,' yet both companies fail to ensure that rideshare cars are free from safety defects that could put passengers at risk."

As Uber and Lyft announced becoming multibillion-dollar IPOs earlier this year, CR decided to check on the safety of the privately owned vehicles that are key to company operations and are now used by more than 100 million consumers.

CR reviewed safety records for about 94,000 vehicles registered as operating for the companies in NYC and King County, Wash. (home to Seattle), two major ride-hailing hubs with local governments that require drivers to register vehicles and obtain an additional license to work through regulators. The CR analysis of the data is meant to provide a snapshot of open safety recalls among ride-hailing cars in the industry, but it might not reflect the national market.

We found vehicles with glaring issues that pose serious risks, such as deadly Takata airbags that could hurt or kill the driver or front-seat passengers. There were unfixed defects involving the potential for vehicles to catch fire or for engines to lose power entirely. For example, one of the 2011 Sonata's open recall notices says, "Engine failure would result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash."

It's unclear whether any ride-hail customer or driver has been injured because of an issue related to an open safety recall, and the rate of open recalls we found for registered ride-hail vehicles in our investigation is about the same rate estimated for all vehicles on the road. But as Uber and Lyft aim to transform daily transportation for consumers, they've taken only minor steps to ensure their drivers get recalls addressed, CR's review found. And that could have unintended consequences for the riding public.

CR thinks stronger safety recall laws are needed, especially as Uber and Lyft work to grow their business in the coming years and as other smaller players enter the industry.

Uber and Lyft allow vehicles on their platforms as long as they are legally registered and no more than 10 to 15 years old, depending on the area where they're located. Local ordinances may be more restrictive, with requirements for a vehicle inspection or for drivers to obtain a legal permit to work. But neither company has a black-and-white policy in place regarding all open recalls.

In response to our questions, Uber and Lyft said they've taken a number of steps to address unfixed recalls in vehicles on their platforms. Uber, in particular, says it encourages and reminds drivers to get recalls fixed, and it identifies and blocks vehicles on its platform that have some of the most dangerous open recalls, ones with "DO NOT DRIVE" warnings from the manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Those warnings, however, make up only a sliver of all vehicles on the road with unaddressed recalls.

"Uber, Lyft, taxi companies, and anyone offering for-hire rides should check cars for open recalls, and ban any with unrepaired safety defects from picking up passengers," CR's Wallace says. "If they won't do so, states and local governments should make them."

CR's review also found that:

*About 1 in 6:* Of the 93,958 vehicle identification numbers (VINs) associated with ride-hailing vehicles in New York City and King County, Wash., that CR examined, 15,175, or 16.2 percent, had one or more open safety recalls. (Because ride-hailing drivers can work for more than one company, we grouped results together for vehicles associated with Uber, Lyft, and, for New York, smaller competitors Juno and Via.)


*Takata:* A number of vehicles have outstanding recalls associated with numerous deaths, such as faulty airbags made by Japanese car-parts manufacturer Takata. Those airbags have been linked to 24 deaths across the world, including 16 in the U.S., and remain in 1,274 of the vehicles cited in CR's review, about 1.4 percent of the total.


*Problem vehicles:* Some vehicles had a significant number of open safety recalls: 25 vehicles in the Seattle area and NYC had at least five or more unfixed recalls.


*On a par with all private vehicles:* The Uber and Lyft vehicles we looked at are about on a par with all personal vehicles on the road. Our analysis also found the open recall rate for some other for-hire vehicle services in NYC to be slightly higher. CR reviewed more than 32,000 VINs affiliated with for-hire vehicles, such as traditional taxis, limos, and liveries, and found the open recall rate for that group to be 23.6 percent.

*Cars older than a decade:* The ride-hailing companies both have varying standards for vehicle eligibility, depending on the city or type of service, but there appear to be slips in enforcing the rules. In Seattle, for example, Uber and Lyft currently say vehicles should be no more than a decade old. But CR's review of records from King County found more than 40 cars licensed to operate there with a listed vehicle model year of 2007 or older. Uber says under King County regulations enacted in March, permits will no longer be issued to drivers with vehicles more than a decade old. Lyft says it considers any vehicle with a current window decal that's legally needed to drive as valid to operate on its platform.


*Onus on drivers:* Uber and Lyft take only minor steps to ensure open recalls are addressed, leaving the onus primarily on drivers.

Uber and Lyft representatives told CR in written statements that a number of initiatives are in place to encourage drivers to address recalls.


https://www.consumerreports.org/ride-hailing/uber-and-lyft-cars-have-open-safety-recalls/


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> *On a par with all private vehicles:* The Uber and Lyft vehicles we looked at are about on a par with all personal vehicles on the road. Our analysis also found the open recall rate for some other for-hire vehicle services in NYC to be slightly higher. CR reviewed more than 32,000 VINs affiliated with for-hire vehicles, such as traditional taxis, limos, and liveries, and found the open recall rate for that group to be 23.6 percent.


So, essentially RS car are no more and no less safe than the average citizen. So really a non-story.

Naturally, that's not how the headline makes it look.

Of course, the headline could have read that RS cars are over 3 times more likely to have recall issues fixed than vehicles in the other for-hire industries.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

And the REST of the cars don't have the regular necessary maintenance done to them because most drivers can't afford it. It sure is fun giving Uber negative publicity. You live by the internet...and die by the internet. 

And remember: Uber is a TECH company!


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> that range from a potential seat-belt detachment to even more alarming examples, such as possible engine failure.


 So they consider an engine failure more dangerous than a seat belt tearing loose in a crash? Sounds like it was written by an idiot


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## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

The local news was running this story all morning. All I could think was, "Great! Another Rideshare scare story to run folks away from Uber/Lyft." As it always is with cases like this, a few bad driver horror stories make the news and the rest of us that fully comply with Uber/ Lyft TOS and safety requirements, have to deal with the repercussions from skittish pax for the next few months....until they are off to the next rideshare injustice issue.


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## Kevin.G (May 10, 2019)

um... reality check.... we are responsible for every person that enters our vehicle... that means you lazyass people that make the conscious choice to not address the safety of your vehicle should and will be held directly responsible for any and all injuries to your passenger resulting from these or any other car related safety issue.... 

....thinking time...

Most recalls are free, so no absolutely excuse there.... other issues may not be free and will likely cost the vehicle owner whatever the cost to fix the problem, welcome to car ownership.... okay..... now lets look at a customer that is suing your ass for millions precisely because you were too damn lazy to fix your damn car.... hhhhmmmm.... think long and hard about this.... which is cheaper and easier and won't screw your entire life or the lives of others.... I wonder how many are re-thinking this and how many just ignored everything I wrote after "reality check".


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## XPG (Oct 4, 2017)

5 in 6 Uber and Lyft cars have one mentally ill ant.


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## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

Kevin.G said:


> um... reality check.... we are responsible for every person that enters our vehicle... that means you lazyass people that make the conscious choice to not address the safety of your vehicle should and will be held directly responsible for any and all injuries to your passenger resulting from these or any other car related safety issue....
> 
> ....thinking time...
> 
> Most recalls are free, so no absolutely excuse there.... other issues may not be free and will likely cost the vehicle owner whatever the cost to fix the problem, welcome to car ownership.... okay..... now lets look at a customer that is suing your ass for millions precisely because you were too damn lazy to fix your damn car.... hhhhmmmm.... think long and hard about this.... which is cheaper and easier and won't screw your entire life or the lives of others.... I wonder how many are re-thinking this and how many just ignored everything I wrote after "reality check".


Almost every day in my city I see an Uber/ Lyft car with body damage. Doors severely bashed in, quarter panels.....and rear end collision style damage to the front of the vehicle. This damage always looks old, with in some cases the body parts are bungie strapped to the car. I always wonder how are they working on the platform so I glance inside. Sure enough I see a glowing app and sometimes even a pax in the back.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Kevin.G said:


> suing your ass for millions


I would guess that a very large percentage of ride share drivers are judgement proof and no lawyer is going to even try to sue them for millions.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

I tried to get a pic, but he was of course driving crazy fast and erratic. Yesterday I saw an uber/lyft driver with an very old, very junky looking PT cruiser. It looked terrible. I would not get in that piece of garbage. The driver was driving it hard, and it had a spare on the back passenger side. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I mean, on one hand this piece of junk is exactly what stupid cheap ungrateful passengers deserve, so I'm happy about that. But I'm unhappy about how stupid Uber and Lyft are that they don't have any quality control measures in place and more importantly with the rate cuts they really didn't see this coming even though they were repeatedly warned? I'm going to lose business because of that car. But funny, I don't blame that driver any more than I do Uber. They are one and the same. Both a product of a fallen trashy morally and intellectually bankrupt culture called American. These disrespectful losers deserve to eat each other alive with their garbage characters, and that car I saw was evidence that this is finally happening.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Joethemechanic said:


> I would guess that a very large percentage of ride share drivers are judgement proof and no lawyer is going to even try to sue them for millions.


Come to think of it, I had a friend that owned a trash removal company and he got screwed really bad in a divorce. He ended up living behind some relative's truck repair garage in a camping trailer and driving a 15 year old pickup. The camper caught fire and set the lumberyard next door on fire, I think it burned for 2 days. Next thing you know he gets served with papers and they were suing him for a couple of million. We all almost peed ourselves laughing. He owned nothing but a 15 year old pickup and a couple of thousand in the bank. It was before everything was computerized so I guess they were looking at his pre-divorce net worth


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> I tried to get a pic, but he was of course driving crazy fast and erratic. Yesterday I saw an uber/lyft driver with an very old, very junky looking PT cruiser. It looked terrible. I would not get in that piece of garbage. The driver was driving it hard, and it had a spare on the back passenger side. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I mean, on one hand this piece of junk is exactly what stupid cheap ungrateful passengers deserve, so I'm happy about that. But I'm unhappy about how stupid Uber and Lyft are that they don't have any quality control measures in place and more importantly with the rate cuts they really didn't see this coming even though they were repeatedly warned? I'm going to lose business because of that car. But funny, I don't blame that driver any more than I do Uber. They are one and the same. Both a product of a fallen trashy morally and intellectually bankrupt culture called American. These disrespectful losers deserve to eat each other alive with their garbage characters, and that car I saw was evidence that this is finally happening.


Yes, this was bound to happen once they went outside the 5-10 year car model allowance...and dropped the driver age from 25 to 21... to whatever it is now.


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## Ssgcraig (Jul 8, 2015)

Lissetti said:


> *One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests*
> *CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*
> 
> By Ryan Felton
> ...


Easy solution, during the vehicle TNC inspection that we now have to go through, why wouldn't that check recalls?



ABC123DEF said:


> Yes, this was bound to happen once they went outside the 5-10 year car model allowance...and dropped the driver age from 25 to 21... to whatever it is now.


It's 16 in CA.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

ABC123DEF said:


> Yes, this was bound to happen once they went outside the 5-10 year car model allowance...and dropped the driver age from 25 to 21... to whatever it is now.


If they didn't do that, how else could they make it a race to the bottom?


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Ssgcraig said:


> Easy solution, during the vehicle TNC inspection that we now have to go through, why wouldn't that check recalls?
> 
> 
> It's 16 in CA.


SURELY, you can't drive for Uber at 16 years old!!! -o:


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

ABC123DEF said:


> SURELY, you can't drive for Uber at 16 years old!!! -o:


16? Really? Doesn't that violate some kind of labor laws? When I was 16 I was on the school "work program" and did half days at school and then went to my job at a garage. The high school guidance councilor caught me driving a tow truck and I got in some kind of trouble. I think they were going to take away my working papers or something. That was in 1976 I think


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## FormerTaxiDriver♧ (Apr 5, 2018)

Lissetti said:


> *One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests*
> *CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*
> 
> By Ryan Felton
> ...


My Nissan Versa had issues.


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## Ssgcraig (Jul 8, 2015)

ABC123DEF said:


> SURELY, you can't drive for Uber at 16 years old!!! -o:


Quit calling me Shirley. No I don't think you can drive for Uber at 16.


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## Kevin.G (May 10, 2019)

Well to all those that think having nothing makes you "sue proof".... nope.... with a good lawyer, what this does is screw you for life.... get a good job and you end up getting hit, if not immediately then pretty damn soon.... try to sell an asset, pay up some more buddy.... go and get a good low interest loan, not likely to happen, although you probably could still get a loan but the interest will be quite high. Could look bad on financial background checks.

The person being sued could have extremely easily avoided any of these potential complications by simply fixing their damn car.... what is so scary about that? 

And hey, let's take this lazyass attitude one more step... what if your unsafe car resulted in you killing a pax or someone else.... yes, yes this CAN happen....see ya later looser, all ya had to do was.... omg..... get off your lazy and potentially criminal ass and fix the damn car. 

Why the hell is this even a conversation?


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## W00dbutcher (Jan 14, 2019)

Joethemechanic said:


> 16? Really? Doesn't that violate some kind of labor laws? When I was 16 I was on the school "work program" and did half days at school and then went to my job at a garage. The high school guidance councilor caught me driving a tow truck and I got in some kind of trouble. I think they were going to take away my working papers or something. That was in 1976 I think


Dont worry they will just set up a c.c. From mom and dad......


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Drivers have been driving on bald tires and the like for years. These aren't even new issues.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

ABC123DEF said:


> SURELY, you can't drive for Uber at 16 years old!!! -o:


You can't drive at 16 yo

No really I have seen thousands of teen drivers they all suck!


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

Kevin.G said:


> Well to all those that think having nothing makes you "sue proof".... nope.... with a good lawyer, what this does is screw you for life.... get a good job and you end up getting hit, if not immediately then pretty damn soon.... try to sell an asset, pay up some more buddy.... go and get a good low interest loan, not likely to happen, although you probably could still get a loan but the interest will be quite high. Could look bad on financial background checks.
> 
> The person being sued could have extremely easily avoided any of these potential complications by simply fixing their damn car.... what is so scary about that?
> 
> ...


I haven't seen anyone here say it was a good thing to not get recall issues fixed, so it seems you're having a conversation with yourself about it.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Does anyone think there would be any value in Uber/Lyft having strategically placed (geographically) employees that act sort of “monitors” for drivers? Call them what you like.....that doesn’t matter. They’d be tasked with making sure that drivers, and their vehicles, are in compliance. Give them the “God App”....and empower them to be able to take immediate actions, deactivations etc....

Obviously they’d need to be actual employees and not drivers. Probably not former drivers either. I ask, because one of my kids asked me the other night who “supervises” drivers, after she had a rather unpleasant encounter with an Uber driver. Just curious if anyone thinks this would be of any use at all.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Kevin.G said:


> Well to all those that think having nothing makes you "sue proof".... nope


Personal injury lawyers work on contingency, they only get paid if there is a collection on the judgement. Lawyers are driven by money, they have no interest in suing poor people, especially when there are plenty of easy cases against deep pockets for them to spend their time on. The heroic lawyer that is not concerned about profit and fights for the poor underdog is something that only happens on TV


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> Does anyone think there would be any value in Uber/Lyft having strategically placed (geographically) employees that act sort of "monitors" for drivers? Call them what you like.....that doesn't matter. They'd be tasked with making sure that drivers, and their vehicles, are in compliance. Give them the "God App"....and empower them to be able to take immediate actions, deactivations etc....
> 
> Obviously they'd need to be actual employees and not drivers. Probably not former drivers either. I ask, because one of my kids asked me the other night who "supervises" drivers, after she had a rather unpleasant encounter with an Uber driver. Just curious if anyone thinks this would be of any use at all.


The things that Uber SHOULD do and have the ability to do...they won't do. And the things that they should NOT do...they DO. Gotta love Uber logic. And who could ever forget about Uber Math?!


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Joethemechanic said:


> Personal injury lawyers work on contingency, they only get paid if there is a collection on the judgement. Lawyers are driven by money, they have no interest in suing poor people, especially when there are plenty of easy cases against deep pockets for them to spend their time on. The heroic lawyer that is not concerned about profit and fights for the poor underdog is something that only happens on TV


Judgement proof is a whole different animal. Anyone can sue anyone. Collecting the judgement is an entirely different matter.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/
Here is the link to check your car for recalls and TSB's


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

Come on, there's still some bottom left. Can I get a 15yo with a learners permit?


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Amos69 said:


> https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/
> Here is the link to check your car for recalls and TSB's


I'm pretty sure the point is that drivers don't check, or don't care...as recall repairs are free.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> I'm pretty sure the point is that drivers don't check, or don't care...as recall repairs are free.


Most people do not often think about checking. I posted the link to help anyone who chooses to check their car. Not trying to save the world here. A lot of TSB's are free too, you just have to know to ask.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Amos69 said:


> Most people do not often think about checking. I posted the link to help anyone who chooses to check their car. Not trying to save the world here. A lot of TSB's are free too, you just have to know to ask.


Wasn't being critical friend....I appreciate the effort, I'm just guessing the people who don't do this, aren't likely to be on the boards either. All owners get recall notices. Then again, I've purchased brand new vehicles with recalls attached.


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

If companies like U/L actually cared about this type of stuff, it would be simple enough for their apps to scrape the recall db's and send a warning notice to their drivers, giving them a certain amount of time to submit proof that it was handled, just like we have to update our insurance, registration, and inspection info every so often.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> Judgement proof is a whole different animal. Anyone can sue anyone. Collecting the judgement is an entirely different matter.


I'm not saying it can't happen, but the injured party would have to pay the lawyer a retainer just to get the case started and we're talking thousands. The injured party would also be responsible for the filing fees, and all the lawyer's time spent on the case at at least $300 per hour no matter if they won, lost, or even ever collected one cent of the judgement if there is even a judgement.

Chances are the injured party doesn't have the money to pay the lawyer, and even if they do they are probably not going to take the risk that they might be throwing good money after bad.

If you work the odds you have to figure the chances that you have an accident due to an unperformed recall, the chance that there is an injury, and the chance that the injured party is wealthy enough and willing to risk thousands of dollars trying to sue some poor cab driver with few assets with the hope of getting a judgement, in the hopes that the poor cab driver is going to become a brain surgeon and have considerable assets at some future date

And then there is the whole declaring bankruptcy thing like Micheal Scott on The Office


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## ubercrashdummy (Mar 5, 2015)

Great job CR!

Uber/Lyft cars have an open recall rate of 16.2%

For hire & Taxis have an open recall rate of 23.6%



> CR reviewed more than 32,000 VINs affiliated with for-hire vehicles, such as traditional taxis, limos, and liveries, and found the open recall rate for that group to be 23.6 percent.


Yes, nearly 1 in 6 sounds bad but almost 1 in 4 would technically be worse, right?

Seems like the story should have a different title.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Joethemechanic said:


> I'm not saying it can't happen, but the injured party would have to pay the lawyer a retainer just to get the case started and we're talking thousands. The injured party would also be responsible for the filing fees, and all the lawyer's time spent on the case at at least $300 per hour no matter if they won, lost, or even ever collected one cent of the judgement if there is even a judgement.
> 
> Chances are the injured party doesn't have the money to pay the lawyer, and even if they do they are probably not going to take the risk that they might be throwing good money after bad.
> 
> If you work the odds you have to figure the chances that you have an accident due to an unperformed recall, the chance that there is an injury, and the chance that the injured party is wealthy enough and willing to risk thousands of dollars trying to sue some poor cab driver with few assets with the hope of getting a judgement, in the hopes that the poor cab driver is going to become a brain surgeon and have considerable assets at some future date


Except as mentioned before, attorneys who work PI cases do so on contingency. It's not going to cost the litigant a penny up front to sue your tucas off. You, on the other hand, are going to have to pay for your defense attorney.....PI litigants literally get a free shot at you...at least in upfront costs.....knowing that 99% of cases are going to settle.....


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## Kevin.G (May 10, 2019)

Joethemechanic said:


> I'm not saying it can't happen, but the injured party would have to pay the lawyer a retainer just to get the case started and we're talking thousands. The injured party would also be responsible for the filing fees, and all the lawyer's time spent on the case at at least $300 per hour no matter if they won, lost, or even ever collected one cent of the judgement if there is even a judgement.
> 
> Chances are the injured party doesn't have the money to pay the lawyer, and even if they do they are probably not going to take the risk that they might be throwing good money after bad.
> 
> If you work the odds you have to figure the chances that you have an accident due to an unperformed recall, the chance that there is an injury, and the chance that the injured party is wealthy enough and willing to risk thousands of dollars trying to sue some poor cab driver with few assets with the hope of getting a judgement, in the hopes that the poor cab driver is going to become a brain surgeon and have considerable assets at some future date


That's highway robbery.... in Ontario Canada, if I am filing a law suit regarding a traffic accident my lawyer(s) do not ask for any money up front... they get paid after they win. For instance my friend was in a cab, was involved in an accident that has left him with multiple physical problems, he was working his way up the sports industry ladder, now he has dime zero.... he also has one of the biggest firms in the area working his case without any retainer whatsoever.


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## Joethemechanic (May 20, 2019)

Kevin.G said:


> That's highway robbery.... in Ontario Canada, if I am filing a law suit regarding a traffic accident my lawyer(s) do not ask for any money up front... they get paid after they win. For instance my friend was in a cab, was involved in an accident that has left him with multiple physical problems, he was working his way up the sports industry ladder, now he has dime zero.... he also has one of the biggest firms in the area working his case without any retainer whatsoever.


The lawyer gets paid out of the money collected from the judgement, no collection, no money for the lawyer. Typically they will only sue for the amount of the insurance limits unless the defendant in the lawsuit has considerable assets. Your only risk would be if there were criminal actions against you and you were convicted. Missing a recall isn't criminal, it's negligence and it's tried in a civil court.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Kevin.G said:


> That's highway robbery.... in Ontario Canada, if I am filing a law suit regarding a traffic accident my lawyer(s) do not ask for any money up front... they get paid after they win. For instance my friend was in a cab, was involved in an accident that has left him with multiple physical problems, he was working his way up the sports industry ladder, now he has dime zero.... he also has one of the biggest firms in the area working his case without any retainer whatsoever.


In the states its a sure fire way to know if you have a good case or not. If the lawyer thinks you have a good case and there is money to be made they won't ask for money up front cause they know a good payday is coming. If you go to a lawyer and the lawyer thinks you really have little chance of collecting big dollars they won't tell you you don't have a case but they will want a retainer up front.


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

What we need to talk about is why click-bait news articles become featured threads on uberpeople!

Backin the day newspapers wanted to keep long-term subscribers. Now internet-based news hype and controversy things just to get more clicks an ad Revenue


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## partyrideMT (Apr 21, 2019)

doyousensehumor said:


> What we need to talk about is why click-bait news articles become featured threads on uberpeople!
> 
> Backin the day newspapers wanted to keep long-term subscribers. Now internet-based news hype and controversy things just to get more clicks an ad Revenue


Hey, at least the original post was kind enough to paste the whole article so none of us clicked the bait.

Thanks to someone for posting the link to check VIN's, I never considered looking before, gladly found I have 0 outstanding recall issues.

Finally, many recalls are overkill on car manufacturer's part and just a pain and waste of time to get the "free" repair. I'm not surprised so many drive without caring, but am surprised about the ones with bad Takata air bags


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

partyrideMT said:


> Finally, many recalls are overkill on car manufacturer's part and just a pain and waste of time to get the "free" repair. I'm not surprised so many drive without caring, but am surprised about the ones with bad Takata air bags


Correct. Recalls are when when the manufacturer FIXES a potential problem. People like to make a fuss over it, but what they ought to be more concerned about are problems that the manufacturer hasnt issued a recall!


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

If driver is making good $$$, he will probably make sure that he has a safe car
If he is not making much , then safety concerns will be ignored... he needs to put food on the table first or pay rent.


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## wicked (Sep 24, 2017)

I have an open recall. EGR cooler. Occasionally the EGR cooler will crack causing hot soot and coolant to mix. This mixture of hot goo can melt through the intake manifold, causing the vehicle to ignite after being parked for some time.

Symptoms are coolant loss without an indentifiable cause and possible engine overheating.

I have the coolant loss symptom. Parts not available yet... Get that fire extinguisher ready lol.


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## Tom Oldman (Feb 2, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> *One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests*
> *CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*
> 
> By Ryan Felton
> ...


Great article and thank you for publishing it. 
Unfortunately the two disastrous ingredients, greed and ignorance, are dwelled deep into human behavior and consequently into the corporations culture managed by them. The rideshare companies are stacking ants on top of each other which eventually will lead to even more driver's pay cuts. The vehicle inspection report is attainable with a $20 bill regardless of vehicles condition as long as it isn't too obvious. That's pure greed. And ignorance, as removing vehicles, safe or unsafe, would interfer with their ultimate goal of turning rideshare driving in to another poorly paid job, sometimes even below min wage. If somthing happens, it's ultimately the vehicle's owner responsibility to keep their vehicle safe; what a great escape path for insurance lawyers. Driver's ignorance is mostly just desair and conern about losing their tool of trade. Of course almost all recalls are free of charge but a thoroughly inspected vehicle may get sidelined citing safety concerns.


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## TemptingFate (May 2, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> Almost every day in my city I see an Uber/ Lyft car with body damage. Doors severely bashed in, quarter panels.....and rear end collision style damage to the front of the vehicle. This damage always looks old, with in some cases the body parts are bungie strapped to the car. I always wonder how are they working on the platform so I glance inside. Sure enough I see a glowing app and sometimes even a pax in the back.


UberXL picking up airport pax.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

Hahahaha!! What a great picture on the Home page.


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## nouberipo (Jul 24, 2018)

Lissetti said:


> Almost every day in my city I see an Uber/ Lyft car with body damage. Doors severely bashed in, quarter panels.....and rear end collision style damage to the front of the vehicle. This damage always looks old, with in some cases the body parts are bungie strapped to the car. I always wonder how are they working on the platform so I glance inside. Sure enough I see a glowing app and sometimes even a pax in the back.


I got picked up at Cleveland airport by a Lyft driver with a windshield that was cracked from the top to the bottom. He also had out-of-state license plates. The reason he had out-of-state license plates is because he never would have passed the inspection to register the car in Ohio. It is illegal to drive with a cracked (cracked is an understatement...the vertical crack went from top to bottom) but as we all know, Lyft and Uber will spew rhetoric about how they care about safety but that is not the case at all. The company is built on lies upon lies and eventually it will catch up with them. I don't appreciate being put into a position, after a 36 hour trip, to arrive at the airport to be picked up by a car that is illegally being driven and the safety issue of the window busting out while driving being a real possibility. Lyft lies about their concern for safety period.



ABC123DEF said:


> Yes, this was bound to happen once they went outside the 5-10 year car model allowance...and dropped the driver age from 25 to 21... to whatever it is now.


But then they put out BS lies about their highest concern is for passenger safety. LMFAO. This is just one of the many lies this company spews out to the public. They lie so much that I really doubt they would know what the truth was.


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> Almost every day in my city I see an Uber/ Lyft car with body damage. Doors severely bashed in, quarter panels.....and rear end collision style damage to the front of the vehicle. This damage always looks old, with in some cases the body parts are bungie strapped to the car. I always wonder how are they working on the platform so I glance inside. Sure enough I see a glowing app and sometimes even a pax in the back.


I'm seeing a lot of the damaged cars too, bumpers clinging on by a bolt or duct tape. Uber/Lyft stickers in the windows. Times are tough in Socal.



nouberipo said:


> I got picked up at Cleveland airport by a Lyft driver with a windshield that was cracked from the top to the bottom. He also had out-of-state license plates. The reason he had out-of-state license plates is because he never would have passed the inspection to register the car in Ohio. It is illegal to drive with a cracked (cracked is an understatement...the vertical crack went from top to bottom) but as we all know, Lyft and Uber will spew rhetoric about how they care about safety but that is not the case at all. The company is built on lies upon lies and eventually it will catch up with them. I don't appreciate being put into a position, after a 36 hour trip, to arrive at the airport to be picked up by a car that is illegally being driven and the safety issue of the window busting out while driving being a real possibility. Lyft lies about their concern for safety period.
> 
> 
> But then they put out BS lies about their highest concern is for passenger safety. LMFAO. This is just one of the many lies this company spews out to the public. They lie so much that I really doubt they would know what the truth was.


Ugh. Request Uber Select next time and bill it to your employer(?)


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## IR12 (Nov 11, 2017)

Lissetti said:


> *One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests*
> *CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*
> 
> By Ryan Felton
> ...


Lyft/Uber screw everything up. Why would anybody think they'd do the right thing here?


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## nouberipo (Jul 24, 2018)

Joethemechanic said:


> 16? Really? Doesn't that violate some kind of labor laws? When I was 16 I was on the school "work program" and did half days at school and then went to my job at a garage. The high school guidance councilor caught me driving a tow truck and I got in some kind of trouble. I think they were going to take away my working papers or something. That was in 1976 I think


while I don't think Uber/Lyft allow 16 year old drivers, their blatant disregard for laws/regulations/ethics tells me that breaking these are of no concern to Uber/Lyft. I presume the insurance companies do not allow it but then again Uber/Lyft seem to be immune from any regulators who are in power to regulate but instead are bought off through lobbyist dollars. What is stopping them from bringing on 16 year old drivers? They skirt the labor laws elsewhere, how about bringing on drivers of any age? Who would stop them? The lawlessness of the US is prevalent from the top down and businesses know that with the leader and cronies surrounding him skirting all laws/ethics that businesses have cart blanche to do what they want as long as it produces money. Profit before people at any cost should be written on the US dollar bill.


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## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

EM1 said:


> I'm seeing a lot of the damaged cars too, bumpers clinging on by a bolt or duct tape. Uber/Lyft stickers in the windows. Times are tough in Socal.


LOL I've had many Pax thank me for driving a vehicle that's clean and damage free. I've heard horror stories of when the driver showed up, the car looked nothing like the picture. Sometimes it was a completely a different car/make model from the one in the app. (Driver's car was in the shop and had borrowed a friend's car and begged the Pax not to tell Uber.)

....And sometimes it is the same car and looks nothing like it's former self.

Nothing........


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> LOL I've had many Pax thank me for driving a vehicle that's clean and damage free. I've heard horror stories of when the driver showed up, the car looked nothing like the picture. Sometimes it was a completely a different car/make model from the one in the app. (Driver's car was in the shop and had borrowed a friend's car and begged the Pax not to tell Uber.)
> 
> ....And sometimes it is the same car and looks nothing like it's former self.
> 
> ...


Haha. Great meme. Yeah many of my paxils are eternally grateful my car is clean, functioning & that I'm "normal" ('normal' is a huge compliment in Socal).


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

EM1 said:


> Haha. Great meme. Yeah many of my paxils are eternally grateful my car is clean, functioning & that I'm "normal" ('normal' is a huge compliment in Socal).


You will be happy to know that based on an image search, you are also most likely human according to Google.










On the other, I'm a bit of a weird, creepy search the internet kind of guy. An old habit from a past internet life.


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

WAHN said:


> You will be happy to know that based on an image search, you are also most likely human according to Google.
> 
> View attachment 322964
> 
> ...


Boom! Would you like to bet me that I'm half (50%) Asian?


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

EM1 said:


> Boom! Would you like to bet me that I'm half (50%) Asian?


Good God, I hope it's not the driving half.


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

WAHN said:


> Good God, I hope it's not the driving half. :biggrin:


LOL.

So, no bet? : )


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

EM1 said:


> LOL.
> 
> So, no bet? : )


With what?

I'm a gig worker.


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

WAHN said:


> With what?
> 
> I'm a gig worker.


Float me your Uber Pro & Gold Star status, its transferable. Then I can become wealthy & enjoy the rich benefits of Uber Pro.


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

EM1 said:


> Float me your Uber Pro & Gold Star status, its transferable. Then I can become wealthy & enjoy the rich benefits of Uber Pro.


I have a bit of work to do to hit those. 



Lissetti said:


> *One in 6 Uber and Lyft Cars Have Open Safety Recalls, Consumer Reports' Study Suggests
> 
> CR's review of 94,000 vehicle records in New York City and Seattle area shows companies do little to address open recalls*


Okay, trying to get back on topic. 

Do you think articles like this reflect more poorly on us as drivers or on U/L?

Personally, I think it shows we're just the average citizens we are, and the stats back it up.

I also think it illustrates that U/L and the other ride services with a higher percentage of recalls care more about profit than safety as it's in their power to lower those percentages. Not that it's news where corporate priorities lie.


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

WAHN said:


> I have a bit of work to do to hit those. :wink:
> 
> Okay, trying to get back on topic. :smiles:
> 
> ...


Well, I'm Caucasian. Get it? Half Asian...Caucasian. Ok nm. I await Gold Star Status upgrade from you.


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## TemptingFate (May 2, 2019)

EM1 said:


> Well, I'm Caucasian. Get it? Half Asian...Caucasian. Ok nm. I await Gold Star Status upgrade from you.


Cock Asian. My condolences.


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

EM1 said:


> Well, I'm Caucasian. Get it? Half Asian...Caucasian. Ok nm. I await Gold Star Status upgrade from you.




In my younger days, I might have caught that.


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## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

WAHN said:


> Do you think articles like this reflect more poorly on us as drivers or on U/L?


I think that as embattled and controversial of a corporation that Uber is, and with the whole recent string of assaults on Pax in the news, any story involving safety concerns, will be amplified if the word rideshare in included in it. This is the current buzzword that will get your story more action.

Yes....every time a negative story about rideshare gets a lot of press, I feel the repercussions thereafter from at least 20% of my Pax for a few weeks. However I am a female driver and my car is a 2015 Corolla and looks new-ish, plus it's kept in top condition, so that spares me from some of the over cautious fallout from Pax, compared to that of my male counterparts, but not all.



WAHN said:


> I also think it illustrates that U/L and the other ride services with a higher percentage of recalls care more about profit than safety as it's in their power to lower those percentages. Not that it's news where corporate priorities lie.


As rideshare drivers we put more wear and tear on our vehicles so yes, regular maintenance is a must to keep our cars in safe operating condition. It used to be that Uber/Lyft only allowed newer cars on their platform and usually they were from manufacturers that are known to produce safe and reliable vehicles. However...in Uber and Lyft's recent thirst for greed, they are allowing anything and everything to be used on the Rideshare platform.

Yes...I have seen both these vehicles (below) in my city numerous times picking up Pax;




























Some vehicles are notorious for having recall issues and some are simply not the type of vehicle that can stand up to the consistent driving a rideshare vehicle endures. So I do think, that while yes, any consumer who buys a car is at risk of operating a recalled vehicle unknowingly on the roadway, the chances of that defective part failing is much higher to a rideshare vehicle over a standard personal use vehicle.


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## nonononodrivethru (Mar 25, 2019)

Lissetti said:


> The local news was running this story all morning. All I could think was, "Great! Another Rideshare scare story to run folks away from Uber/Lyft." As it always is with cases like this, a few bad driver horror stories make the news and the rest of us that fully comply with Uber/ Lyft TOS and safety requirements, have to deal with the repercussions from skittish pax for the next few months....until they are off to the next rideshare injustice issue.


Ride-sharing should require 90 day inspections. Period.


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## Lissetti (Dec 20, 2016)

nonononodrivethru said:


> Ride-sharing should require 90 day inspections. Period.


I drove Semi Trucks for 9 years. I'd be happy with our own version of weigh stations and rolling DOT inspections as well. My vehicle is always in compliance.


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## Milito (Apr 26, 2016)

Come to Miami and take a look, I am sure your vehicles look better compared to ones here. No bumpers. No front ends. Not insured, no drivers license etc... and there are 100 of them in every corner basically panhandling jus to get paid $5 for a couple hours


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

This article is a poorly written hit piece.

1 in 6 of all vehicles ever sold in the last 10 years probably have outstanding recalls/campaigns open at any given time. When you go to a dealer for a service they run the VIN of your vehicle, and complete any open work orders for this stuff at that time.

It's hardly an earth shattering safety issue attached to just ridesharing per say........


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## RabbleRouser (Apr 30, 2019)

Maybe Uber should Ban individual driver & private vehicle ? ownership from the platform

Maybe Uber remains a Technology Company while
Allowing Only fleet contractor operations which will efficiently and cost effectively maintain thousands of cars and have exclusive access to the driver's app for a designated territory.

Former nonemployee IC Uber Drivers could apply to these fleets
as employee drivers with:

Employee Benefits
use of a well maintained company vehicle
Scheduled work shifts
Supervision
Regular Drug testing
Regular Criminal & Driving record background checks
No more cowboy ? drivers on the lone prairie

?A win-win for Uber and their priority of Passenger & community safety and satisfaction ? Stock should go Up 30pts


Get me Khosrowshahi on the phone ☎
PRONTO TONTO!!!


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## Kevin.G (May 10, 2019)

um... no one is forcing anyone to keep driving for uber or lyft....


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