[TomNashville]

I was worried last night that my car would smell.... three very drunk girls I picked up at a bar in Hermosa Beach lit a pipe in the back seat and by the time I pulled over to explain the rules I thought
I would never get the smell out.... the ride lasted another 20 minutes and with 2 windows open the Ganja smell was gone.

Not that many late nite pax would complain.....

They straight up smoked weed in your vehicle? To me that's an instant drop off on the side of the road, 1 star and a cleaning fee!

 

[TomNashville]

what proof would you have of the "mess left in your car"??

I'd take the pic of the pipe in their hands.

 

[TomNashville]

Yep. Pipe full of weed.

Too drunk to kick out...my rating and my car survived the way I handled it.

Too drunk to kick out? I've left people on the curb for being too drunk, didn't even let them get in! You are much more compassionate to those who make poor decisions than I am!

 

[TomNashville]

http://www.independent.com/news/2013/jun/18/taxi-company-sued-passengers-death/

The case is still ongoing... so we may, or may not, be responsible for babysitting people who are "too drunk".

One huge difference is that the cabbie was paid up front for a fare, our fares are calculated based upon time and distance, so if we end the ride, we are no longer being compensated. Plus, there are no absolutes in law, there is always a reason to eject a passenger, especially if the passenger turns violent. Imagine ejecting a violent belligerent drunk that later gets hit and killed by a car, would you have been expected to take a beating to save his ass?

 

[TomNashville]

It's a problem. That's why drivers are taking such a chance in this job NOT having liability insurance while running a business. Drivers are not factoring this potential "cost". A cost that would be life changing. Drunks in our cars magnify this potential liability 10 fold probably.

What you are talking about falls under the heading of a "duty to rescue law", laws that actually require people to help others. These have been found largely unconstitutional. There are laws on the books in 10 states that require people to call the police to assist "strangers in peril". Perhaps the best way to handle drunken passengers that you eject would be to eject them, but call the police before leaving to notify them of drunken people at a specific location.

 

[TomNashville]

Generally there are three scenarios where you may have a duty to rescue.

• Special Relationships and Circumstances: You may have a duty to rescue someone as a result of a special relationship that exists between you and the person in danger, such as between a teacher and a student.
• You Created the Danger: If your own negligence creates a danger to another person and causes that person to require rescuing, you will usually be found to have a legal duty to rescue the person in danger.
• You Began to Rescue: If you begin to rescue a person in peril, you may have a legal duty to finish your attempt. The court usually applies a reasonableness standard. If you began a rescue and then stopped, the court may find that you may have a duty to continue if a reasonable person would have done so under the circumstances.

The second, and possibly the first and third could apply in our situations. Depending on where you eject the passenger, you could be creating the danger. Especially if they do not know the area, it's a high crime area, a roadway were pedestrians are not permitted, or possibly even they're too intoxicated to know where they are. A good attorney could argue for this one easily in just about any situation. It is conceivable that initiating transport of a person obviously too intoxicated to care for themselves could be construed as "you began to rescue". As for the first one... that's going to depend on a detailed analysis of Uber's usage agreement.

I'd also point out that CA (Uber's home state) is one of the states with duty to rescue laws, as is MA.

For me personally as a medical professional, I have a whole set of other issues which could come into play if I could be considered to have initiated care of a patient. So I am very careful in what I say or do when transporting intoxicated riders.

Duty to rescue is also weighed against personal safety. If for example, a drunk attacked you, and you discharged him, or as in the case of another member on here, someone grabbed her steering wheel, I would say you are completely in the right to eject someone, to CYA, it might be wise to call the police as well, but I would think that your liability should end there.