# Is Uber Dangerous? (Kinda Need Answer Fast) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504 "2016-05-23T23:34:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504/61 "2017-12-18T20:19:08Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Even if I was planning on paying with cash, whenever I’ve heard that, it’s “Well, thanks for the free ride.” It’s amazing how quickly the credit card machine has been fixed. :rolleyes: If the cabbie agrees (meaning it really _is_ broken), then I’ll pay cash. > My biggest fear w/ Uber (& Lyft) is that an Uber driver gets into a bad accident, perhaps a fatal or an amputation. He also neglected to tell his personal vehicle insurance company that he was using his personal vehicle for commercial purposes. Therefore, they get an ‘out’ from paying a multi-million dollar settlement. Uber then turns around & states that since the driver didn’t have appropriate insurance, which is a requirement, their (secondary) insurance doesn’t have to pay out because of the driver not meeting their T&C. The injured / deceased’s estate gets whatever the driver was worth, which lets face it, if they were worth a lot, they probably wouldn’t be driving for Uber. So Uber and Lyft don’t require proof of insurance (i.e. proper insurance for this kind of passenger hauling) before they accept a driver? If so, that would be another good reason for not using them, but I’d really like to see some cite about that one way or the other. Even so, my own auto insurance should at least cover my medical bills in a case like this, no? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504/62 "2017-12-18T20:29:06Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > … > Even so, my own auto insurance should at least cover my medical bills in a case like this, no? Every state is different. So is every policy. Read what yours says. it also depends on whether you’re imagining being the driver of some other car the Uber/Lyft car hits, a passenger in that other car, or a passenger in the Uber/Lyft car. Three very different circumstances, probably three very different answers. If indeed most Uber/Lyft drivers lack commercial insurance, than the vast majority of Uber/Lyft drivers are effectively uninsured. In many states there’s already a crisis level of uninsured drivers crashing into people& things. Adding umpteen percent additional can’t be a idea good. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504/63 "2017-12-18T20:36:15Z")
I have only read the first 20 posts or so… sorry if this has already been mentioned. One thing you could do is talk to your husband (or other trusted person) on the phone for the entire length of the ride. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504/64 "2017-12-19T16:43:35Z")
If there were systemic issues with Uber drivers being under-insured, I suspect that there would be well-publicized incidents by now. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504/65 "2017-12-19T17:18:55Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If there were systemic issues with Uber drivers being under-insured, I suspect that there would be well-publicized incidents by now. Not necessarily. First it would take a catastrophic accident (like death or loss of limb), not just a fender bender. Second, insurance rules in one state aren’t necessarily the same as in another. State A might require the insurance company to payout anyway, in which case this would never make the news. [Here](http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140506_Stakes_in_school_bus_accident ___14M_or__ 500K.html)’s a case that’s tangentially related. Student is hit by a school bus& loses a leg in accident. However, state law caps liability because they are a government agency, reducing a $14 mil verdict down to $500,000, which is less than her medical costs alone, let alone any housing modifications (wheelchair ramps, wider doorways, etc), pain & suffering or punitive award. This might not happen in another state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uber-dangerous-kinda-need-answer-fast/755504.md?page=3)