Risks of using the Uber app

San Diego is no exception to Uber drivers accused of sexual assault and abuse

 

Alexandria Hudome | Contributor | USD Vista

 

Senior Gabriella Sardina was at a friend’s house near San Diego State University at the beginning of her sophomore year. She had carpooled with some friends to the house, but decided she wanted to leave early. Sardina decided to call an Uber, and what started off as a normal car ride with small talk took a turn for the worse.

“My male driver kept asking me if I was sure that I wanted to go back to my dorm,” Sardina said. “He kept insisting that I would have more fun with him back at his place than back in my dorm room. In an attempt to persuade me, he pulled out bras and women’s underwear from his center compartment and placed them on my lap as if to show me the rest of the women who had taken him up on his proposal.”

Sardina began fearing for her safety and tried to plan out her next steps, as her brain went into crisis mode.

“Very uncomfortably and nervously, I asked him to please continue to take me to campus,” Sardina said. “We were on the I-8 freeway and I didn’t have the option of stopping to end the ride right then and there. When we got back to the Vistas I had him pull around near the pool as I didn’t want him to see exactly where I lived. When the car stopped and I went to get out I noticed that the doors were locked and the buttons to unlock the door were removed on the passenger side. He put his arm around me and told me that this was my last chance to go back with him. I pushed him away and told him to unlock the doors or else I was going to call 911. He finally unlocked the doors and I ran out.”

After she filed a complaint with the app, the ridesharing company gave Sardina a generic apology, a $5 account credit, and blocked the driver from picking her up in the future. Sardina said she reported the driver in hopes that no woman would ever have to feel unsafe in a car ride with him again.

Since the incident, Sardina hasn’t avoided Uber altogether. However, she has taken preventative measures to stay clear from reliving her sophomore year experience.

“I now avoid taking an Uber by myself at all costs, but if I have to I only do so during the day, and I always sit in the back seat,” Sardina said.

As reported by CNN, 103 Uber drivers have been accused of sexual assault or abuse since 2014. One of the recently convicted perpetrators was based in San Diego. Local driver John David Sanchez was found guilty of raping his Uber passenger after she passed out in his back seat. This wasn’t Sanchez’s first offense either: police found five years’ worth of incriminating videos revolving around sexual misconduct on his computer. It’s difficult to think that this incident could not have been prevented, had Sanchez been properly and thoroughly vetted by Uber.

Sophomore Hailey Newton, a frequent Uber client, hadn’t previously heard of the incident, but said it is terrible either way.

“People are trying to get to where they need to be in maybe a safe or efficient manner and they’re somewhat putting their trust into other people, the drivers, and then the drivers take advantage of that,” Newton said. “It sucks that you can’t really go anywhere or do anything without having to feel at least somewhat on edge.”

It’s rare that playing the song “1985” by Bowling for Soup could get someone out of a sticky situation. But that’s exactly what Newton had to do when she had an uncomfortable experience with her Uber driver.

“He just seemed kind of talkative and friendly at first but then things started to get uncomfortable,” Newton said. “He just kept saying things to (my friends and me) like, ‘You guys are so fun, if only I was a few years younger,’ and it just came off in an uncomfortable and creepy manner. He also kept complimenting us.”

The comments weren’t limited to their age. The Uber driver went so far as to make some remarks about her friend’s race.

“He said something to my friend about her race and then said, ‘That was a compliment. You’re very beautiful,’ or something along those lines,” Newton said. “But it didn’t come off as kind or flattering at all. Most of the time when he said things we would all just reply with an uncomfortable laugh. It was so uncomfortable, and it felt like the ride just wouldn’t end.”

That’s when the radio came in handy.

“I was in the front seat and I remember turning the music up as loud as possible so that he wouldn’t be able to say anything to us,” Newton said.

As far as taking Ubers in the future, Newton also said she hasn’t stopped using the ridesharing service, but that she has become more cautious.

“I’ve taken a lot of ubers since, but I always make sure it’s with someone else,” Newton said. “I don’t think I would ever Uber alone. And since I have a car it’s easier for me to say that, but even if it was necessary to Uber I wouldn’t go alone.”

Newton is not alone in her experience. And with no public data available for Uber clients to see how many drivers are being accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, it is difficult for students to put their trust in the company.

An Uber spokesperson told CNN that the company is taking steps to lay out preventative measures for their clients.

“Sexual assault is a horrible crime that has no place anywhere,” the Uber representative said. “While Uber is not immune to this societal issue, we want to be part of the solution to end this violence forever.”

The previously reported incident in San Diego was not isolated. A San Diego Uber driver once pled guilty to indecent exposure and the false imprisonment of one of his passengers, according to CNN. That driver also worked for Lyft, and pled guilty to battery involving one of his Lyft passengers as well.

However, it seems as though contacting Uber with complaints isn’t enough, which is why some resort to contacting the police.

Senior Baby Bagos Hood knows this experience first-hand, as when she contacted Uber after one of her uncomfortable encounters to report her driver, she never heard back from them. She said the experience has made her wary of using Uber in the future.

“Some family friends were visiting San Diego, and we took an Uber to a restaurant,” Hood said. “I was in a conversation with my friends in the backseat before his dad asked me a question about continuing to run after high school cross-country, and the driver remarked about how fit I looked. It then started to become silent in the car as the driver started talking about how he could bench me, lift me, and more lewd sexual acts that he would like to do to me, all in front of my friend and his family.”

Hood’s driver didn’t hold back, leaving all of the passengers in the car uncomfortable and distressed.

“At stop lights he would turn on the light so I could see his face when he addressed me through the rearview mirror, telling me to stay in the car after he dropped off my friends so he could take me home, further describing things he wanted to do to me until we finally arrived and my friends guided me out of the car and we got away as quickly as possible,” Hood said.

Chief James Miyashiro, the assistant vice president for Public Safety at USD, provided some tips for students who decide to use ridesharing services. The easiest first step to ensuring safety is walking an extra few feet to be picked up at a safe location.

“Any time they’re gonna get picked up, we try to tell students to be picked up in a place that’s open,” Miyashiro said. “Maher Circle is a good one because it’s visible, there’s a lot of light, and there’s a lot of people walking by. So it’s just a matter of having to walk a little further from your dorm room, but in the long run that’s probably the best way to do it.”

Miyashiro said he’s aware of Uber’s attempts at pursuing safety measures to best serve their clients. Miyashiro is one of them, as he also uses Uber and is familiar with the app.

“I guess on the app now, you can actually send your route to other people so that they can see (the route you’re taking),” Chief Miyashiro said. “At least other people can see it too. So that way wherever you’re going, if you’re meeting people there, they know when you’re coming, and they’ll know if you divert from the route.”

Since Uber is a cell phone app, Miyashiro recommended that students use their clear access to their cellphones to their advantage.

“We always tell people to have something programmed in their phone, whether it’s 911, the local police, or even us, Public Safety, because we can help too,” Chief Miyashiro said. “If they call us, we can make sure we can get them some type of assistance.”

Miyashiro suggested vetting the driver thoroughly as well. If Uber has not done their part well enough in ensuring the safety of the passengers, he advised taking matters into one’s own hands.

“Just be prepared, and double check when you get into the car, because Uber drivers are now required to call you by your name that’s on the app,” Chief Miyashiro said. “Double-check the license plate on the car and on the app, along with the driver’s name. Make sure the picture on the app and the driver look the same. Another recommendation is to check reviews. If a driver has all one (star reviews), there’s probably something wrong. You know, you don’t have to take the driver that you get. You can always reject it and they’ll send another one.”

With Uber drivers being arrested so close to USD, it can be difficult for students to put their trust in the ridesharing company. It is important for students to have a plan in case something goes wrong on their trip so they can be prepared for anything that comes their way.

Until concrete, effective solutions are put into place to avoid sexual misconduct carried out by Uber drivers, the company might expect to see fewer drivers pulling up to the front of the Student Life Pavilion (SLP).