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A lot of drivers are unaware of the fact that Uber and state laws do not allow us to give rides to kids under the age of 18 when unaccompanied with an adult. I kind of stumbled across it in the passenger legal section looking for other information. I've since inquired about a drivers responsibilities a few times through the help section and have been told that we cannot pick up unaccompanied minors under 18 years of age. I was once told that we would lose our driving privileges if we do pick up unaccompanied minors.
I do have a problem with this for a few reason. The first reason is because they, Uber, do not seem to make this very important fact well known to drivers and /or passengers. Both Passenger and drivers are at risk when this happens and Uber seems to care little about informing either party. There is no insurance for either the driver nor passenger when this occurs.
Another point is that there isn't a category for this situation when cancelling the call, you don't get paid AND, if you get a few of these in a short period time, you cancellation rate goes up. There are other ways to close out the cancellation to get paid but there isn't one for unaccompanied underaged minors. I would like to get paid for the trip because I figure that the passenger is at fault, not me. They made me travel out to pick up them up when they aren't allowed in the system. They should pay for my time and travel and, hopefully, after a few times paying and not getting a ride, they will stop trying to use Uber which would put everyone at risk.
And that leads me to the other BIG problem. That is by letting them in your car, you put yourself into a libel situation. If there is an accident with a unaccompanied minor in your car, as far as I understand, you are not covered by any insurance. You also could be libel for other legal issues if you knowing did so. To me, this is not worth any amount of a fare much less if it's only about $5-$10.
Here is a little story told to me from a passenger that involved an unaccompanied unaged minor.
I had a passenger whose wife was in an accident with an Uber driver who was transporting a 16 yo kid. The car was totaled and his wife ended up in the hospital with a broken leg. Uber denied insurance coverage because the driver was not complicit with Uber regulations and state laws. The driver's own insurance certainly didn't cover the accident because the policy doesn't cover ridesharing. My passenger told me that he had to hire an attorney and sue Uber. He evidently won and got reimbursed but not without a lot of time and aggravation. A funny aside to this was that the driver tried to sue the passenger because he lost his driving privileges with Uber and felt it was the passenger fault because he sued Uber.
I no longer pick up minors EVER. I had in the past when I didn't know any better but I figured it isn't worth a possible $5-$10 fare that could ruin my life.
And parents don't seem to care. I had the experience where the parents were home and I refused to take their underage kids. They would say things like "I'm glad you told us, we didn't know." Then 2 minutes down the road I get a request from the same parents.
When I get a request from a high school, I call or text to inform them that they must have proof of age or I'm not taking them. It saves me the time of travel.
Elementary schools were out until once it were parents attending a parent-teacher conference. So I do call to see if it's a parent or teacher.
So I just want to inform those that don't know of the risk they assume when they allow an unaccompanied minor into their car. We should know our local laws and Uber regulations and I feel Uber should put more emphasize to make drivers AND passengers aware. They seem to not care. No Surprise?
Hope this helps.
I do have a problem with this for a few reason. The first reason is because they, Uber, do not seem to make this very important fact well known to drivers and /or passengers. Both Passenger and drivers are at risk when this happens and Uber seems to care little about informing either party. There is no insurance for either the driver nor passenger when this occurs.
Another point is that there isn't a category for this situation when cancelling the call, you don't get paid AND, if you get a few of these in a short period time, you cancellation rate goes up. There are other ways to close out the cancellation to get paid but there isn't one for unaccompanied underaged minors. I would like to get paid for the trip because I figure that the passenger is at fault, not me. They made me travel out to pick up them up when they aren't allowed in the system. They should pay for my time and travel and, hopefully, after a few times paying and not getting a ride, they will stop trying to use Uber which would put everyone at risk.
And that leads me to the other BIG problem. That is by letting them in your car, you put yourself into a libel situation. If there is an accident with a unaccompanied minor in your car, as far as I understand, you are not covered by any insurance. You also could be libel for other legal issues if you knowing did so. To me, this is not worth any amount of a fare much less if it's only about $5-$10.
Here is a little story told to me from a passenger that involved an unaccompanied unaged minor.
I had a passenger whose wife was in an accident with an Uber driver who was transporting a 16 yo kid. The car was totaled and his wife ended up in the hospital with a broken leg. Uber denied insurance coverage because the driver was not complicit with Uber regulations and state laws. The driver's own insurance certainly didn't cover the accident because the policy doesn't cover ridesharing. My passenger told me that he had to hire an attorney and sue Uber. He evidently won and got reimbursed but not without a lot of time and aggravation. A funny aside to this was that the driver tried to sue the passenger because he lost his driving privileges with Uber and felt it was the passenger fault because he sued Uber.
I no longer pick up minors EVER. I had in the past when I didn't know any better but I figured it isn't worth a possible $5-$10 fare that could ruin my life.
And parents don't seem to care. I had the experience where the parents were home and I refused to take their underage kids. They would say things like "I'm glad you told us, we didn't know." Then 2 minutes down the road I get a request from the same parents.
When I get a request from a high school, I call or text to inform them that they must have proof of age or I'm not taking them. It saves me the time of travel.
Elementary schools were out until once it were parents attending a parent-teacher conference. So I do call to see if it's a parent or teacher.
So I just want to inform those that don't know of the risk they assume when they allow an unaccompanied minor into their car. We should know our local laws and Uber regulations and I feel Uber should put more emphasize to make drivers AND passengers aware. They seem to not care. No Surprise?
Hope this helps.
