On one of my early shifts driving taxi, I dropped two young men off at a club. The bouncer opened the cab's door and before I realized what was happening, I had a rather intoxicated young woman to deal with. She knew her address, and paid her fare when we got to her complex. But she was too wasted to get from the cab to her apartment.<p>"[...] I held on to her as we headed in the direction she indicated. She was in no shape to climb the stairs to her apartment either, and also could not put the key in the lock.<p>"There was a look of appreciation in her eyes, then the door closed. I heard the door lock, and as I walked away I heard a 'thunk', just like a body hitting the floor. Hopefully she made it through the night." [1]<p>[1] <i>22: degrees of intoxication</i> - <a href="https://www.taxiwars.org/2012/04/22-degrees-of-intoxication.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.taxiwars.org/2012/04/22-degrees-of-intoxication....</a><p>Women have strategies for dealing with horny men in whom they aren't interested. The article doesn't say if alcohol is a factor in these lawsuits. Controlling one's alcohol intake a basic requirement for being aware enough to avoid bad situations, like if a driver parks and follows you to your door, even though you don't actually need their assistance.<p>Drivers deal with drunk female passengers all the time. Drivers with integrity stick to their job.<p>Someone complained about me once - she told the taxi company that I was hitting on her daughter. I posted about that in a previous comment, on "103 Uber drivers accused of sexual assault or abuse": <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16963843" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16963843</a><p>"There are certainly women who have problems with their drivers, but slander is a problem for the drivers too." (my conclusion in comment linked above)
The stories mentioned at the start are just horrible. The panic button does seem like a decent idea (why are Lyft so slow to add it) but when a passenger is heavily intoxicated (ie. passed out) its effectiveness is almost zero.
What is the situation for regular taxi companies - how often does this happen per 1000 drivers? What do taxi companies do that prevents/mitigates it successfully?
This is awful. Can’t we just legalize a safe and controlled outlet for these poor men with paid and consenting women?<p>I mean realistically, who’s going to date an Uber driver? Nowadays the dating apps are 4:1 men-to-women and women are picky beings.
"Hours later, her friends walked in on her Lyft driver allegedly raping her in her bedroom. “<p>if they somehow got to her bedroom it doesnt sound like something Lyft should bear responsibility for