# Underage pax - official Lyft response



## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)




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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Plenty of 18 and 19 yo HS students though


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

_"Please ask the rider to confirm his/her age"
_
Lol, yeah... that's a great idea! 'Cause kids would never lie about their age.

What I do is ask them if they are riding as part of the new "Teen" service. Underage kids always fall for it.

- "Are you riding as part of the new Teen service for under 18s?"
- "Uh...yeah!"
- "Great! I just need to check that you are indeed under 18. How old are you?"
- "I'm 16!"
- "Unfortunately that program is not available in this state. Under 18s cannot use Uber/Lyft by themselves and I won't be taking you today."

Then send the report and video in to Uberlyft straight away.


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## circle1 (Sep 17, 2016)

elelegido said:


> _"Please ask the rider to confirm his/her age"
> _
> Lol, yeah... that's a great idea! 'Cause kids would never lie about their age.
> 
> ...


_*NICE! *_


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## ROTA (Jun 23, 2017)

hahahhahahahhaha


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

lyft insurance is worthless. $2500 deductible minor or adult.


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## Skinny1 (Sep 24, 2015)

What's the avatar from? I'm curious


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Skinny1 said:


> What's the avatar from? I'm curious


If you asking me - this is actual photo of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.


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## Skinny1 (Sep 24, 2015)

7Miles said:


> If you asking me - this is actual photo of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.


Too funny thanks, I think I've seen a few people use it and I never knew where it was from. Ha


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

Skinny1 said:


> Too funny thanks, I think I've seen a few people use it and I never knew where it was from. Ha


That's because we love our (former) CEO. You can't just work and smile to customers and deliver awesome customer service while hating the company you work for or it's CEO .


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## ManOfTroy (Apr 23, 2017)

Lyft insurance will cover you as long as the ride was ordered through the app. No need to verify the identity. If it ends up being a minor, there is a violation of state law but liability will still fall to Lyft in case of pax injuries.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

ManOfTroy said:


> Lyft insurance will cover you as long as the ride was ordered through the app. No need to verify the identity. If it ends up being a minor, there is a violation of state law but liability will still fall to Lyft in case of pax injuries.


Go to "News" section on this website and you will see someone filed a suit against Lyft AND two Lyft drivers for picking up a minor . That underage girl ended up being dead after drop off.


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## ManOfTroy (Apr 23, 2017)

Anyone can sue anyone for any reason. Doesn't mean they will win. Uber and Lyft doesn't ask drivers to check id. This has been an issue they have been sweeping under rug but might have to address it soon.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

ManOfTroy said:


> Anyone can sue anyone for any reason. Doesn't mean they will win. Uber and Lyft doesn't ask drivers to check id. This has been an issue they have been sweeping under rug but might have to address it soon.


For safety reasons, underage people are not allowed to create a Lyft account. However, if you suspect a rider is underage, please ask the rider to confirm her/his age.

So Lyft does ask you to check ID


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## sd1303 (Nov 11, 2015)

7Miles said:


> That underage girl ended up being dead after drop off.


100% of the people we drop off will end up dying at some point thereafter.


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## RealCheetahz (Jun 6, 2017)

I had a group of 4 under age kids pile in my scion one after in uptown. I didn't care then, nor do I care now. I am however ultra Aware when driving them to their destination though . We get paid zero for refusing the fare. Time and gas wasted at that point.


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## Butter (Jun 26, 2017)

Picked up three boys at a gas station in the middle of nowhere last night. If I had refused the ride then they would have been walking home on an unlit highway with only a narrow shoulder to walk on. Life is messy sometimes.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Butter said:


> Picked up three boys at a gas station in the middle of nowhere last night. If I had refused the ride then they would have been walking home on an unlit highway with only a narrow shoulder to walk on. Life is messy sometimes.


This situation is not messy at all. The best thing to do is call 911. The cops will come out and it then becomes their problem. I have done that in the past for a 15 year old boy who was trying to obtain a ride alone at 2:30am. The cops arrived and phoned the boy's father, then they held the boy until the father arrived to collect him. The cops thanked me for doing the right thing and said to be sure to call them again whenever I come across the same situation in the future.



RealCheetahz said:


> We get paid zero for refusing the fare. Time and gas wasted at that point.


When this happens I wait at the scene and no show them; the justification being that no transportable pax showed for a ride, thereby wasting my time. If, for some reason, I don't get the $5 (pax cancelled soon after I arrived etc) then I contact Uberlyft support, referring them to the video I sent them of the incident, and tell them that payment of the no show fee is now due. They do pay it.


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## Butter (Jun 26, 2017)

elelegido said:


> This situation is not messy at all. The best thing to do is call 911. The cops will come out and it then becomes their problem. I have done that in the past for a 15 year old boy who was trying to obtain a ride alone at 2:30am. The cops arrived and phoned the boy's father, then they held the boy until the father arrived to collect him. The cops thanked me for doing the right thing and said to be sure to call them again whenever I come across the same situation in the future.


Yes, because I have the legal right to detain minors until the police arrive and spend the time taking care of them while the police arrive. You don't know if their parent is going to beat the crap out of them when they get home because they had to get picked up from the cops. Life is messy, sometimes you make the best of bad decisions. I know that those kids got home safely, I'll consider that a job well done.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Butter said:


> Yes, because I have the legal right to detain minors until the police arrive and spend the time taking care of them while the police arrive. You don't know if their parent is going to beat the crap out of them when they get home because they had to get picked up from the cops. Life is messy, sometimes you make the best of bad decisions. I know that those kids got home safely, I'll consider that a job well done.


I guess things are different in Texas. In California we do not have the legal right to detain minors, so I cannot recommend that course of action here. That wouldn't be necessary in your given situation, though. You say that the alternative of you not giving them a ride is them walking alone out on a highway, which means that there were no other Ubers around for them to call. Cops are _very_ quick to respond to reports of children out in the middle of the night by themselves - the children would not have walked very far down that highway before they arrived on scene.

You may consider picking up lone children on the highway late at night "a job well done". That's fine, just know that there are risks involved in doing that. Rather than being a job well done, it could instead cost you your job.


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## Butter (Jun 26, 2017)

elelegido said:


> That's fine, just know that there are risks involved in doing that. Rather than being a job well done, it could instead cost you your job.


Everything in life has risks and risks can be managed. It's not a job, it's a side hustle, right?


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Butter said:


> Everything in life has risks and risks can be managed. It's not a job, it's a side hustle, right?


Correction - you think that taking kids home late at night is a side hustle well done.


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## Butter (Jun 26, 2017)

elelegido said:


> Correction - you think that taking kids home late at night is a side hustle well done.


Now you're just trolling. Keeping three minors from walking down a dangerous highway is a job well done, my conscience is clear.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Butter said:


> Now you're just trolling. Keeping three minors from walking down a dangerous highway is a job well done, my conscience is clear.


No, not trolling; just pointing out that if you want to pull the semantics card and and say it's not a job, then it's probably best not to call it a job.


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## Ms.Doe (Apr 15, 2016)

Butter said:


> Picked up three boys at a gas station in the middle of nowhere last night. If I had refused the ride then they would have been walking home on an unlit highway with only a narrow shoulder to walk on. Life is messy sometimes.


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## TipTippi (Jul 18, 2017)

Wait - WHAT? This is a daily occurrence for me. It's summer, so kids going to their friend's house, sports practice, play rehearsal, etc. We're supposed to not accept these rides - holy cow!


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## sd1303 (Nov 11, 2015)

Butter said:


> Yes, because I have the legal right to detain minors until the police arrive and spend the time taking care of them while the police arrive. You don't know if their parent is going to beat the crap out of them when they get home because they had to get picked up from the cops. Life is messy, sometimes you make the best of bad decisions. I know that those kids got home safely, I'll consider that a job well done.


You don't need to detain them, or care for them. The child is not in your charge, and you did not put them in the situation. The child ordered a service that they were not eligible for.

There is a very clear policy of not transporting unaccompanied minors. That is why you can't transport them. If things go south, I wouldn't count on Lyft/Uber supporting you. For example, if the kid is not going "home" and is instead going to the home of a pedophile that they just met online, you may find yourself in the middle of a situation that you don't want to be in.

Stay with the kid if you want, but I would think that notifying law enforcement of the situation is sufficient.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

sd1303 said:


> You don't need to detain them, or care for them. The child is not in your charge, and you did not put them in the situation. The child ordered a service that they were not eligible for.
> 
> There is a very clear policy of not transporting unaccompanied minors. That is why you can't transport them. If things go south, I wouldn't count on Lyft/Uber supporting you. For example, if the kid is not going "home" and is instead going to the home of a pedophile that they just met online, you may find yourself in the middle of a situation that you don't want to be in.
> 
> Stay with the kid if you want, but I would think that notifying law enforcement of the situation is sufficient.


Exactly. The kids are not his responsibility, and he does not have the authority to take temporary custody of those children in his private car, even if the child requests it. If he does, he's breaking the rules.

Also, every once in a while a parent comes on here and posts something like this:



taisenrice76 said:


> I don't know what I can do , or how to contact uber. My underage daughter with her friend, both age 11 got picked up at a park just this last Sunday. Now , my daughter didn't know that her friend stole her grandmother's credit card. There was no parental consent, no adult there, yet this uber driver took them anyway. Nobody knew until after the girls got home. I can't find a way to contact a live person at uber or know what to do . My daughter and her friend could have seriously gotten hurt or worse. Can anyone help me please because I am so angry that the driver went ahead with this and none of us knew where the girls were , and as a parent, I'm sure a lot if you can understand those feelings of being terrified and thinking the worst . Any information would be greatly appreciated. This is absolutely unsafe and dangerous for underage children. I'm a very protective mom and I was under the impression that my daughter was with her friend at her grandmother's. I would truly appreciate any help on this. Thank you.


Now, it is the parents' responsibility to know where their child is, and this mother's attempts to blame Uber are misguided. But it does illustrate why drivers should not pick up unaccompanied children, especially at night.

Then there's this in reference to the latest incident of this type. Lyft has not commented yet, but will obviously try to hang the driver(s) out to dry:


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## Butter (Jun 26, 2017)

I agree with the policy to not pick up minors. I also believe there should be an exception when the safety of a child is at stake. You don't agree, fine. As for them not being my responsibility, to that I say that when I become aware of a minor that is in jeopardy that it's my duty as a responsible adult to assist. If that assistance is to keep them from walking by providing a ride to their home then that's what I'm going to do. If I told them no, and one of them was injured by a passing vehicle while the police were 'on their way' I'd feel terrible.


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## sd1303 (Nov 11, 2015)

Butter said:


> I agree with the policy to not pick up minors. I also believe there should be an exception when the safety of a child is at stake. You don't agree, fine. As for them not being my responsibility, to that I say that when I become aware of a minor that is in jeopardy that it's my duty as a responsible adult to assist. If that assistance is to keep them from walking by providing a ride to their home then that's what I'm going to do. If I told them no, and one of them was injured by a passing vehicle while the police were 'on their way' I'd feel terrible.


Certainly up to you. There are plenty of ways that this could go wrong, though... and plenty of ways to fulfil your moral duty to assist without transporting the minor in your car.


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## ROTA (Jun 23, 2017)

16yo girl that is prob drunk leaving a party can *** you up so hard if you get falsely accused for sexual abuse by her.
I want see how you will get out from that..
If it was back in my country i would help because i know that i can defend myself but in US, where ppl sue you for a sneeze, no way..


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## Fishchris (Aug 31, 2016)

circle1 said:


> _*NICE! *_





Butter said:


> Yes, because I have the legal right to detain minors until the police arrive and spend the time taking care of them while the police arrive. You don't know if their parent is going to beat the crap out of them when they get home because they had to get picked up from the cops. Life is messy, sometimes you make the best of bad decisions. I know that those kids got home safely, I'll consider that a job well done.


I don't know ? And I don't give a flying F ! Their isn't no way I'm going to risk my a$$ for a $5 Lyft ride. The best advice here, was to call 911, and report underage kids that need a ride, explaining that you can't legally give them one. Period. Done deal. Next....



Butter said:


> Now you're just trolling. Keeping three minors from walking down a dangerous highway is a job well done, my conscience is clear.


BS. Its needlessly risking your own a$$ !


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## circle1 (Sep 17, 2016)

Fishchris said:


> Next.... BS. Its needlessly risking your own a$$ !


Actually . . . worst-case scenario;
The kids are killed/seriously injured
The D.A. learns you refused to help them
you are hauled in front of a judge and charged with negligence in not exercising Duty of care [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_of_care]​


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

circle1 said:


> Actually . . . worst-case scenario;
> The kids are killed/seriously injured
> The D.A. learns you refused to help them
> you are hauled in front of a judge and charged with negligence in not exercising Duty of care [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_of_care]​


We have no duty of care for people that are not supposed to be riding in our cars.

Duty of care would cover, for example, if we picked up a drunk packs and that packs passed out in the back seat. If we were unable to wake the person up, and we remove them from the car, that would be a violation of our duty of care. The better option in this particular example would be, of course, to call the police and let them deal with it. The person would probably end up being charged as drunk and disorderly. Our duty of care, however would have been fulfilled.

Accepting the responsibility of a minor into your car, is accepting a level of Duty of care. Refusing to take him in your car, is not. This is why both Uber and Lyft have these policies. They want it absolutely clear that there is someone else responsible for the duty of care for the minor. Not them.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

circle1 said:


> Actually . . . worst-case scenario;
> The kids are killed/seriously injured
> The D.A. learns you refused to help them
> you are hauled in front of a judge and charged with negligence in not exercising Duty of care [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_of_care]​


Not really relevant though. According to the article:

In tort law, a *duty of care* is a legal obligation which is imposed on an individual requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others.

The key words there being "while performing acts that could foreseeably harm others". If the children walked along the highway and were killed or injured by a passing car driver's negligence, then that driver would have failed in his/her duty of care because he/she was the one who hit the children, not the Uber driver.

The Uber driver simply driving away is not an action that could foreseeably harm others.



ROTA said:


> 16yo girl that is prob drunk leaving a party can *** you up so hard if you get falsely accused for sexual abuse by her.
> I want see how you will get out from that..
> If it was back in my country i would help because i know that i can defend myself but in US, where ppl sue you for a sneeze, no way..


Exactly. Drunk little girl is driven home by an Uber driver. Driver thinks he's done a great job returning her home.

Inside the house, the girl's dad flips out at the child for coming home late and drunk. Little girl decides she wants to deflect Daddy's rage off her and onto someone else. "My Uber driver - he touched me". Dad instantly goes into protective mode as any father would, calls the cops and the Uber driver's feet don't even touch the ground until he's safely locked up in jail 1 hour later.

Hell no. Kids lie about their drivers. So far the "only" things they've falsely accused me of is dangerous driving and then having an unknown adult riding along in the car with me. Kid said to Uber that he was scared to get in the car because of the (non-existent) mystery person, instead of the truth which was that I refused to take him because he was a child. No... I am not giving them a chance to lie and accuse me of anything.


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

elelegido said:


> Not really relevant though. According to the article:
> 
> In tort law, a *duty of care* is a legal obligation which is imposed on an individual requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others.
> 
> ...


This is a good example of why I always report underage writers that I refuse to take. I get as much detail from them as I can as far as if it's their account or parents, and make sure I put that in there. Also exactly how old they are if I can. I do the same thing when it's full grown adults trying to put a small child in my car without a car seat.

Anytime we refuse a rider the ride that they ordered, they are, at best, inconvenienced. They're not going to be happy about this, and they are not going to want to pay the cancellation fee, no matter how justified. They are going to find a reason to say that we did something wrong, so that they can get that cancellation fee reimbursed. Personally, I don't care if Uber reimburses them the cancellation fee. My only concern is that they don't refuse it to, or take it back from, me. That's it. That is why I always report them as soon as the app will allow me to.


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## westsidebum (Feb 7, 2015)

My parents worked and went to grad school and that put me at the mercy of the worst public transit system in the country. I was always tardy to school no matter how early I got up and since it was rigorous private high school I spent many lunch periods picking up trash as punishment. When I played on sports teams due to rotten buses I would get home and start doing home work after 9 pm with the alarm set for 5am rise time due to crap buses. After what I went through as a teen I will always pick up teens. It's a human rights issue


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