Naked Man Mistaken for Uber Driver Swings Hatchet at Victims

[FrodosPet]

We have gotten to the point where people expect armed naked people to be their Uber?


[hr]
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Naked-Man-Mistaken-for-Uber-Driver-Swings-Hatchet-at-Victims-382704301.html

A naked man wielding a hatchet was arrested Sunday morning after he swung the weapon at three people who mistook him for an Uber driver, Arlington County police said.

The victims approached 64-year-old Michael Monroe's vehicle believing he was the Uber driver they called to the Crystal City area, police said. There was some sort of verbal altercation, and Monroe -- who police say was naked at the time -- reached into his backseat, grabbed a hatchet and allegedly started swinging the weapon.

The victims were able to wrestle the hatchet away from Monroe, police said.

No one was injured.

~ snip ~

[FrodosPet]

1. Note: As far as I know, he is NOT an Uber driver

But he has a car and a pulse, so he is qualified.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Whereas the requirements to drive a taxi for a traditional cab company in a major metro area

are as follows:

A pulse
an in with a connected cab company that has greased the palms of the local medallion-dispensation authorities
about a 5-10% chance of actually being available when someone needs a lift

[FrodosPet]

5. Or not

Where I am, you need to have a good driving record. You need to meet with the driver manager, and then the GM. You have to take a road test with the DM to prove you are not a dangerous or incompetent driver. You have to acknowledge our company is based on customer service and respect for our passengers. If you are a bigot, a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, you better hide it well or just stay the hell out of our cars.

There is no medallion system here in Michigan. You DO need commercial insurance, plates, yearly inspections, and a permit from the state DOT, but there is no limit.

Sometimes the cars are late. No one gets any joy from that. Dispatch, and most of the drivers, bust their ass to be on time, and if they cannot, to keep the passengers informed.

Are some cab drivers and companies incompetent? Absolutely. But the broad brush against everyone in the field is misinformed and borders on childish.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. All I know is, having spent plenty of time in several major metro areas

Cab service sucks and is horribly deficient in a lot of different places.

So if you want to go after Uber, fine, but it didnt pop out of a vacuum. It is in response to a need, a need that the status quo has stubbornly failed to fix for a long, long time.

[FrodosPet]

16. Is it bad to want them to get their $hit together?

I know traditional taxis are dying out. It is impossible to have a fleet big enough to serve everyone at peak times. A lot of the people willing to work one of the most dangerous jobs in the world with one of the lowest pay levels in the world are people with few remaining options. So they are not always tthe cream of the crop of beautiful competent people.

Uber has some major problems. With driver safety and accountability. With paying drivers enough to maintain safe vehicles AND pull enough profit to make it a worthwhile venture. With deactivating good drivers based on a broken rating system. With endangering and inconveniencing people through UberPool.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/call-for-uberpool-to-be-banned-after-woman-attacked-by-men-who-didnt-want-to-share-minicab-a3270581.html
[hr]
Call for UberPool to be banned after woman attacked by men who didn't want to share minicab

HANNAH AL-OTHMAN 14 hours ago

James Farrar, the co-founder of driver organisation United Private Hire Drivers, said the problem arose when he picked up two passengers in Cranley Gardens, Kensington, on Saturday evening, who were unaware they had ordered an UberPool service.

Mr Farrar said the two young men then set upon the female passenger who was already in the car.

He told the Standard: "When I got there these two guys were aggressive, they'd not realised they were in a shared service, the user interface is confusing.

~ snip ~

[Warren DeMontague]

17. No.

I'd say all sides of the equation have room for improvement.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. I don't know, but there's the lyrics to an early 80s punk song in there, somewhere

Expect armed naked people
to be your uber drivers
a hatchet wielding goober
mistaken for your uber

[arely staircase]

15. good work.

That was worth cranking up the DU machine tonight.

[Fumesucker]

4. Cliqueb8 title

[FrodosPet]

6. Not my title

So what did they call it in the pre-net world when newspapers, magazines, and TV news used provocative headlines?

Oh yes, "business as usual".

[Fumesucker]

19. I don't think you could write a title for it that wasn't clickbait

Which was kind of my point, you had me clicking on it.

[Nye Bevan]

7. I always knock a star off my Uber driver's rating if he shows up naked.

And I knock off another star if he wields a hatchet at me.

[FrodosPet]

8. But you DO tip them, I hope?

If Uber did not underpay them, they could afford clothes and full sized axes.

[Fumesucker]

20. Axes, hell.. Chainsaws are where it's at

[FrodosPet]

21. "Hello! My name is Leatherface, and I am your Uber driver!"

"Where are we going this evening? Would you like some mints, or a bottle of water?"

[Doctor Jack]

9. Wait for Trump to say he needs emergency powers as president to prevent such things

We will all have to install Trump Brand cameras in our cars to make sure we aren't getting naked and of course, all Asians will need to be deported...just to be safe.

[Rex]

11. I hate it when I call for an Uber and the nekked man driving swings an axe at me.

I always mistake the Uber driver for a butt ass nekked man welding an axe. A lot of us do.

[pinboy3niner]

12. I always specify...

No hatchetbacks!

[Rex]

13. Well I just figured he was going to chop some wood later on in the forest.

And the clothes thingy - been there half way to work and completely nekked...usually with a chainsaw...however I've been cutting down on chainsaws as of late. Not so much the nekked thing, I car pool.

[arely staircase]

14. Episode of Portlandia? nt

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Don't blame us for this, man.

Florlandia, maybe.