Ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft have made it very easy to hire a car when you need one. All you have to do is use the app on your phone, and a driver shows up in minutes. It is certainly convenient.
But is it safe? You’re entrusting your life to a driver that you’ve never met before, and that person doesn’t have any more formal training than you do. They may believe that they are a professional driver, but they haven’t gone through a driver’s training course. Anyone with a valid license can attempt to be a driver. So are you safe when you get in that car?
Uber’s fatality rates are actually very low
The first thing that people point out is that some reports show that nearly 100 people died in Uber accidents over a year. That sounds daunting and concerning. You don’t want to become part of those statistics.
But the good news is that the fatality rate, when calculated based on the number of miles covered, is quite low. There’s always a risk when you drive. The national average rate is twice as high as the rate that Uber saw.
One potential reason for this is that most people use Uber vehicles for very short trips in urban areas. This means that the vehicles are traveling relatively slowly. Accidents have a much lower chance of being fatal at low speeds, so that could be why the general population sees much higher rates.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that fatality rates don’t tell you anything about injuries. Just because you live through the Uber accident doesn’t mean that you haven’t suffered significantly. Be sure you know about all of your legal options to seek compensation.