Three women from California — who say they were raped by fake Uber drivers — have filed a lawsuit against the rideshare company, claiming it left them “as vulnerable sitting ducks” by failing to warn them about such impostors.
“These … drivers were specifically seeking out young, inebriated women who have engaged the Uber app and were waiting for pickup within a five-mile radius located in Los Angeles County,” the suit states, according to NBC Los Angeles.
The women — identified as Jane Doe 1, 2 and 3 — say Uber knew that women were being picked up at bars and nightclubs late at night in recent years “but failed to warn plaintiffs of the risk of abduction and rape by sexual predators posing as Uber drivers.”
In their negligence suit, they accuse the company of turning a blind eye to attacks dating back to November 2014, including the abduction and murder of a 21-year-old South Carolina woman by a fake driver just last month, NBC reports.
Jane Doe 1 and 3 say Uber’s failure to act and warn passengers led to them being sexually assaulted in West Hollywood back in June 2017 and February 2018, respectively, while Jane Doe 2 was allegedly raped in December 2017 after leaving a club in downtown LA.
The women are calling on the ride-hailing giant to implement some sort of warning system that could alert passengers when they are in the wrong car, or possibly even police during an assault in progress.
“Jane Doe 2 realized she was in the wrong vehicle, but was unable to avoid the abduction and brutal rape that followed,” their suit says, alleging that her actual Uber driver was mad that she got in the wrong vehicle and hung up on her.
“We have been working with local law enforcement, including the LAPD, to educate the public about how to avoid fake rideshare drivers for several years,” an Uber representative said in a statement. “In 2017, we launched a national campaign to remind riders to make sure they get in the right car by checking the information, like the license plate and car make and model, shown in the app. These important reminders have been part of our safety tips, and our law enforcement team regularly discusses this issue with agencies across the country.”