Douglas McGinity is known as the Ride Share Attorney, but why? Uber has made a lot of headlines this past year. Dara Khosrowshahi took over the reins at Uber right in the middle of self-driving crashes, sexual assault cases and more. Uber will be launching a feature called Ride Check that utilizes the GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, and other sensors inside of a smartphone to detect whether there has been a vehicle crash.
In the event of a crash, this app will automatically send a notification to a rider’s phone to answer a series of question. If they verify that they have been in an accident, the rider will be prompted to call 911. There will also be safety operators on call that can reach out to ensure the rider is safe when the feature is triggered.
This new feature does not have any requirements because it is linked to the driver’s smartphone. Since Uber drivers have the uber app on more frequently than riders, this is the perfect plan.
This was not a simple process. To do this, Uber’s data scientists combined sensor data from the smartphone with information gathered from hundreds of thousands of past trips to assess whether or not a crash had occurred. Uber has been working on this for quite some time but it is not necessarily new technology. Many other companies have crash detection technology.
Keep in mind, that ride check isn’t JUST for crashes. The feature is also triggered if the vehicle stops for a prolonged or unusual period of time. Riders will receive a notification asking them if they are ok and based on their response, the app will present a series of options.
Getting into a car driven by a stranger might be a little alarming. Uber is taking extra steps so that riders and drivers can hide personal information.