"You are pretty much hitchhiking with strangers. How many people is it going to take to get assaulted before something is done?"

(Image: Crime Watch Daily)

(Image: Londontaxitrade)

Fourteen women sent a letter to the Uber’s board of directors Thursday requesting to be released from the arbitration provision in their consumer agreement to allow them to pursue a class-action lawsuit alleging Uber’s inadequate driver screening procedures led to the sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment and gender-motivated violence they experienced at the hands of their drivers.



The open letter was addressed to the Uber Technologies Inc. board of directors by women who write that confidential arbitration goes against Uber’s declared mission to help “make streets safer” and takes away a woman’s right to a trial by a jury of her peers, providing “a dark alley for Uber to hide from the justice system, the media and public scrutiny.” The plea comes as the ride-hailing company faces a May 4 deadline to respond to the women’s complaint against the company in court. Law360, Axios, ABC News and Bloomberg Technology had the story.

“Secret arbitration is the opposite of transparency,” the letter says. “Forcing female riders, as a condition of using Uber’s app, to pursue claims of sexual assault and rape in secret arbitration proceedings does not ‘make streets safer.’ In fact, it does the opposite. Silencing our stories deprives customers and potential investors from the knowledge that our horrific experiences are part of a widespread problem at Uber. This is not doing the ‘right thing.’ ”

The women share their stories of being assaulted, groped and raped by their drivers in the letter. One said her driver “jumped into the backseat, groped my body and forcibly tried to kiss me” when she tried to exit the vehicle. Another said her driver “pulled out his penis and masturbated during the ride” and saw him “on five separate occasions lingering in his car on the street outside of my apartment complex.


http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/14_women_accusing_drivers_of_sex_assault_ask_uber_board_to_be_released_from

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/women-accusing-uber-drivers-sexual-assault-demand-stories/story%3fid=54747465

"You are pretty much hitchhiking with strangers," she told CNN. "How many people is it going to take to get assaulted before something is done?

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/30/technology/uber-driver-sexual-assault/index.htm

Uber driver Alfonso Alarcon-Nunez, 39, allegedly used Uber’s system to scout potential victims seeking a ride, then would nip in before the selected driver arrived, and make the pickup himself, authorities said.

“He targeted highly intoxicated women returning from parties and downtown San Luis Obispo,” said Sophia Mathews, spokeswoman for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/22/uber-driver-allegedly-hunted-intoxicated-women-sexually-assaulted-four-students/amp