# Should I report this Uber driver? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183 "2026-05-18T15:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/21 "2026-05-19T06:18:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, it’s possible this guy is dangerous. But I don’t think anyone would choose to do something like this unless they needed the money. Reporting them might deprive them of a source of income, and possibly unnecessarily. If he could have qualified to drive for Uber, he would have. The biggest reason he potentially couldn’t be a driver at Uber himself is he wasn’t able to be listed on his son’s insurance policy - so a poor driving record. Drunk driving? Poor eyesight? A person isn’t required to have their own car to drive for Uber, just be listed on someone else’s insurance whose car meets their qualifications. So something was wrong there. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/22 "2026-05-19T13:52:04Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > the guy clearly can’t do the job fully. That puts it over the top. I see this as far less of an issue than the two biggies. #1 - Who is driving? The passenger must be able to positively identify who is driving them. #2 - What about insurance? The passenger must be covered by adequate insurance during the trip. Both of these rules are broken when someone is “borrowing” an Uber account and car, not just for me, but for dozens of people who are picked up by this car. All of whom may be fooled into thinking they know who their driver is and that he’s properly insured per Uber’s driver agreement. Every single one of them is endangered, not necessarily by the dad’s evil intent, but by the circumstance his desperation has put them in. The possibility one of them might have to rebook a ride after failing to connect is small potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/23 "2026-05-20T13:52:08Z")
I wouldn’t have gotten into the car to begin with. I always check the plates and the driver’s face. I guess i don’t take rideable all that often. Maybe if i took it all the time i would start assuming. So yes, i would have complained. I would have complained when i rebooked my ride. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/24 "2026-05-20T14:13:13Z")
He needed the money? So does the person who is robbing a bank or stealing your car. I’d wager MOST people committing crime, need the money. I’m not sure how this excuses anyone from crime. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/25 "2026-05-20T15:10:12Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m not sure how this excuses anyone from crime It excuses him from some bureaucratic mix up that doesn’t hurt anyone. If this was just some bureaucratic BS and he has a completely valid license and Uber drivers account but is using his son’s because of some obtuse documentation issue, then I would feel bad if I report him and he stops being able to make ends meet. Like in the example mentioned above where a driver turns up in the wrong car because (he claims) his regular one is in the shop. I’m not going to report him and risk his livelihood over that. But in this case it seems unlikely that it’s something innocent like that, it’s more likely that he doesn’t have a license or can’t pass the Uber screening process. And the next passenger might not discoverer this, so you have a duty to report whatever it means for his livelihood. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/26 "2026-05-20T15:43:05Z")
Or the son is at a bar and too drunk to drive so virtuous dad is covering for him. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/27 "2026-05-20T16:30:47Z")
I thought you drove when you wanted to & didn’t when you didn’t. Is one required to sign up for certain ahifts, or a minimum # of shifts. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/28 "2026-05-20T16:55:37Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Or the son is at a bar and too drunk to drive so virtuous dad is covering for him Rather than just no one driving with that account until the son has sobered up? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/29 "2026-05-20T17:59:25Z")
One thing I have learned in my time in Miami and dealing with folks from other cultures. The USA up until recently had a very rules-following culture. Black markets were small and stayed small. Unlicensed businesses were rather rare. Conversely in other cultures it’s 100% normal that nearly everyone who’s small scale is operating outside the letter of the laws / rules. The OP mentioned the driver & son spoke little English. Suggesting they both are from a culture other than US-born & raised. Depending on the background of the OP’s driver & son, the idea that they’re doing anything wrong by e.g. double-shifting a single Uber account may never have occurred to them. Throw in some language barrier when they signed up for Uber, and here we are. Now IMO the right answer is for all people in the USA, old hands and newbies, to play by the correct rules (Current DC hypocrisy duly noted and dismissed as far too mongo a topic to discuss here). So were I the OP, I’d report it. I might be helping to teach an expensive lesson about compliance to somebody who can’t afford it right now. But ultimately, they can’t afford not to; living in the black market is not the safe place to be. The whole difference between Uber and the “gypsy cab” operators found in immigrant subcultures everywhere is the seeming reliability and security and safety of Uber’s system. I and the other riders are paying for that. I have no interest in assisting a gypsy cab driver to masquerade as Uber. In fact I want to actively work to prevent that. I might well knowingly use a gypsy cab someplace in the USA. I know for sure I have in various other countries. But the keyword is knowingly. And I’d also expect to pay prices well below Uber’s for the uncertain and perhaps even dangerous service I’m about to receive. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/30 "2026-05-20T18:30:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, it’s possible this guy is dangerous. But I don’t think anyone would choose to do something like this unless they needed the money. Reporting them might deprive them of a source of income, and possibly unnecessarily. It’s dicey. I sympathize, I truly do. But in some situations you have to draw a line. A few years back I got rear-ended at a stoplight in the early evening (the second time in a row I had been rear-ended at that exact light). The guy pulled off with me and was very apologetic, admitted fault and gave me his insurance information. But he nervously asked if it was possible we could not go through insurance and if a buddy he knows could fix it for me at his expense. When I hesitated at that, he suggested then a mechanic of my choice, ditto. He explained he drove for Lyft (I think) and was afraid of getting a point on his license and losing his source of income. I demurred but since I had has info, I agreed to sleep on it and contact him in the morning to see how I felt. Sure enough in the morning I had developed a stiff back, which I had experienced before as a delayed reaction to being rear-ended. So I called and said sorry, I sympathize, but no dice. It’s probably just some muscle soreness, but if this gets worse I will need to have had this reported to and covered by insurance. Me: But hey, don’t worry - 1 point on your license is not a big deal and you can just take a driving course to get it expunged. Him: Well, I already have a point and I’ve already taken a course in the last year to lose one. Me: Well, that sucks. But two points won’t cause you to lose your license or anything it just will probably impact your insurance. Him: Well, actually I already have two points. This would be my third. I have a daughter I need to support and I need this job. Me: Sorry man. That means he actually had already accumulated four points and had expunged one in the last 18 months. I’m sorry, I feel for the guy but if my back had turned out to be something (it didn’t) I’d have been fucked. His numerous driving violations are not on me and he probably shouldn’t be driving people around with that kind of record in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/31 "2026-05-20T18:41:02Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > He explained he drove for Lyft (I think) and was afraid of getting a point on his license and losing his source of income Where do you live that someone gets a point on their license for rear ending someone? I have never heard of that. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/32 "2026-05-20T18:46:22Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Where do you live that someone gets a point on their license for rear ending someone? I have never heard of that. In CA it can happen if a police report cites fault. The police will generally only get involved if there is a real injury (or apparently sometimes if they randomly happen to motor up on an accident and involve themselves to write a report). But occasionally if there is report of things like back soreness, one or another of the involved insurance companies will insist on a police report just to cover their ass if it later turns out to be serious. But I’m no expert. This guy was just sweating it. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/33 "2026-05-20T18:49:15Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > In CA it can happen if a police report cites fault CA as in Cali? I lived in California for almost two decades and never heard of this. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/34 "2026-05-20T18:55:36Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > CA as in Cali? I lived in California for almost two decades and never heard of this. [State Code](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=12810) (g) A traffic accident in which the operator is deemed by the department to be responsible shall be given a value of one point. My understanding is that they are only notified via a filed police citation. But that’s just my understanding - never have had to worry about it myself. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/35 "2026-05-20T18:57:41Z")
If he gets a ticket for following too closely that would probably have points associated with it ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/36 "2026-05-20T20:33:30Z")
I didn’t say I supported that. It’s a scenario that I didn’t think had been posed yet. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/37 "2026-05-20T21:49:46Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Where do you live that someone gets a point on their license for rear ending someone? I have never heard of that. Where do you live that someone doesn’t get a point for an at fault accident? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/38 "2026-05-21T00:12:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I had a similar but different sort of issue a few months ago where the right guy showed up in a different car than I expected. Which of course complicated the rendezvous. > > He explained in his limited English that his car was in the shop so he borrowed a friend’s car to drive today. Is that the truth? Hell if I know. The car was adequate and he was the person I expected to see. So no immediate skin off my nose, and no security concerns. Perhaps an insurance concern, but I’m not greatly agitated about insurance in general. > > I did not report this event, but I did consider it As you said, the driver arriving in a different vehicle can complicate things, like if I’m waiting at the curb for them. I’m looking for the color and model vehicle that the app tells me should be arriving and checking that the plate matches. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/39 "2026-05-21T00:19:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > get a point for an at fault accident? Maryland, which like everywhere I was aware of gives points for infractions like speeding, texting while driving, overtaking a parked school bus, etc. not for crashes. I have never heard of people getting points for a crash, either it’s a criminal matter (if one of the drivers is drunk or speeding or whatever) or it’s purely a matter for the insurance companies, I never heard the idea that you could get a point on your license for a crash. Mind you it seems that California does this at least in theory, it must be a very rarely enforced law. Me and people I was close to were involved in several car crashes in the almost 20 years I lived in California, including ones where they were at fault and the police were involved. And I never heard of the concept let alone knew anyone to get a point for that. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183/40 "2026-05-21T01:18:18Z")
My wife has gotten a citation for following too closely (I don’t remember the statute) in two states (Maryland and Massachusetts) after rear ending another car. She’s a rather aggressive driver with many accidents. My brother got a ticket for following too closely in a multi car accident where he was sandwiched between two cars. He fought it and it was dismissed. It wasn’t clear if he would have hit the car in front of him if he hadn’t been hit from behind and pushed forward. He had massive rear end damage and very little rear end damage, which helped his case. The driver who rear ended him did not get cited. This is the case where I realized that an insurance determination of fault may not follow the police report or citation. Despite being cited, the insurance companies deemed the last car in the pile-up to be the one at fault. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-report-this-uber-driver/1030183.md?page=3)