It was around 2 a.m. on March 29, a Friday morning, when University of South Carolina student, Samantha Josephson, was waiting outside a bar for her Uber ride. When a black Chevy pulled up to the bar, she mistakenly got into the wrong vehicle and she was later found dead by police in a nearby wooded area. This recent incident in South Carolina has sparked debate across the country of whether Uber and other rideshare-app services are safe and has raised a level of awareness of the possible dangers in the minds of many Northwood students.
“After hearing about the incident in South Carolina I am still not completely against the idea of Uber because I think it can be a useful service for some people,” senior Elizabeth Nash said. “Then again, you just never know what kind of person you are getting in the car with.”
Some students like junior Derek Cohen feel that part of the responsibility for the recent incident lies with Uber.
“Uber needs to take some responsibility for this incident and take more precautionary steps to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” Cohen said.
While some students have never used the transportation service Uber, junior Brooks Johnson is aware of the risks.
“I have never used Uber and I don’t think that they are entirely unsafe, but I do think that it can be an unsafe situation to use Uber if you are not careful,” Johnson said.
As many students look forward to graduation and transition to college within the next year, the options for off-campus transportation are often provided by the institution.
“I know at many colleges they have buses on campus that are free for students and they will transport you around so I don’t think Uber is a service that I will ever use,” Nash said. “If I ever have to go somewhere off campus I would feel safer just trying to find a ride from an upperclassman that I know or catching the bus.”
Although Nash feels that bus transportation is safer to use than Uber, Cohen outlines the drawbacks of using the university busing system.
“I think bus transportation would be safer for college students; however, the buses don’t run all night long and therefore, after a party, I think Uber is a much better alternative than driving drunk,” Cohen said.
Since the death of Samantha Josephson, Uber has made strides to strengthen the safety for its consumers and in a recent statement made by an Uber spokeswoman sent to MarketWatch, the company has been “working with local law enforcement to educate the public about how to avoid fake rideshare drivers.”
On Uber’s home website (https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/safety/tips/) students can find a list of safety tips that can help protect them from dangerous situations. Here are few of the tips from Uber…
- Request Your Ride Inside: Instead of standing outside alone and waiting for your Uber to arrive, stay inside the nearest building until the app indicates that your ride has arrived.
- Have The Driver Confirm Your Name: Before you get into the car, ask the driver “Who are you here to pick up?” and the driver should see your first name in their app.
- Sit In The Back-Seat: If you are ever riding alone, try to to sit in the back-seat of the car so that you have access to exits on either side of the car.
- Share Your Trip Details: The Uber app gives you the option to share your driver’s name, photo, license plate, and location with a friend or relative which allows them to track your trip and the estimated time of arrival.
-By Madeline Conte
