On Long Island, an Uber driver tried to kidnap a 15-year-old girl, and in Florida, a 12-year-old girl took a ride at midnight and jumped to death from a parking lot. However, the reality is that some parents are willing to break the rules of ride-sharing services themselves. They let their underage children drive Uber or Lyft — usually when they share that ride with friends — but sometimes when traveling alone. And considering the number of young teenagers who also drive alone, some drivers obviously turn a blind eye. In Round Rock, Texas, Lilian R. Coutinho Castro left her daughter to drive alone at the age of 17. But mother and daughter took precautions. Interestingly, the state of California has no specific laws regarding underage passengers and ridesharing. There are laws and rules for transportation companies that primarily transport minors, such as school buses. But neither Uber nor Lyft falls into that category. Dylan Himmerich, a Lyft and Uber driver in Berkeley, California, said, “Many parents order rides for their kids and expect drivers to accept them,” referring to what Rice and Wilbanks do regularly. Himmerich will ask these children their age and refuse to drive them if they are not 18, but he says his approach is not common. “Many drivers are simply violating the directive and accepting it anyway.” Nevertheless, young people and drivers in suburban or urban areas told me that carpooling is “extremely common” for minors, given the ease with which it is possible to name a trip.
They don`t have cars and they have places to be. Most teenagers justify it for what it is (“It`s just a trick,” they shrug) and note that bad actors would take advantage of passengers regardless of age. Having grown up in a world of smartphones and optimized convenience, this generation is accustomed to – even dependent – on ridesharing, whether their parents, businesses, and drivers like it or not. Parents, would you or let your underage child drive Uber or Lyft? Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter “There has to be an option for older teens who are under that legal age,” she says. “If that happened, it would be a risk that I would let them take instead of driving home.” For worried parents, ride-sharing apps for kids and teens are not safe. Wright considered using HopSkipDrive to bring her 11-year-old son to school while she was on a business trip, but after trying to plan her first trip, she didn`t feel fully confident in the service. According to Lyft, drivers` ratings won`t be negatively affected if they refuse to drive a minor and cancel the ride. Drivers can report requests for carriage of unaccompanied minors via the app`s “Contact Support” feature.
So what are the consequences if you don`t play by the rules? Verified via ID? The shared mobility sector is booming, and traditional automakers are struggling to stay ahead of the curve. The next generation of Americans is no longer in love with cars; Some don`t even care about getting their driver`s license, let alone owning a car, the Wall Street Journal reported. Instead, Gen Z is focusing on mobility and access, which means they know how to navigate electric scooters or greet Ubers and Lyfts before they`re even legal adults. There are ride-sharing services that explicitly target children – offering scheduled rides for unaccompanied minors – but their clientele is actually parents, not the children themselves. Stories of minors using rideshare tickets or even their parents` Uber accounts are so common that Uber launched a teen ride-sharing pilot project in 2017 that quickly fell through due to liability issues. However, children are at real risk if they are not supervised. In the news, we find articles that report the terrible consequences of a trip gone wrong. It all comes down to the issue of personal responsibility, O`Bryan replies. Who should ultimately be responsible for minors who should not call these trips in the first place? Drivers, parents or young people themselves? For the most part, teenagers don`t worry too much about their actions: “It doesn`t affect me much, maybe because I`m used to calling my own vehicle,” Rodriguez says.
Underage drivers are an issue that companies have addressed in their terms of service, but have minimal ability to apply independently without relying solely on drivers. And every few months, news reports shine a light on the horrific consequences of a trip gone wrong — how an Uber driver tried to kidnap a 15-year-old girl from Long Island, or how a 12-year-old girl hosted a midnight ride and jumped to death from an Orlando parking lot. These Uber apps for teens are essentially ride-sharing companies that offer regular rides for unaccompanied minors and pick-up services for unaccompanied minors. When it comes to requesting rides, our policies state that the age limit for Uber is 18, which means kids are not allowed to have Uber accounts. If you use your Uber account or Uber family profile, when it comes to requesting rides, our policy states that the age limit for Uber is 18, which means that children cannot have an Uber account. If you use your Uber account or Uber family profile to get your kids to request a ride, they will still need to be accompanied by an adult to travel.
Comments are closed.