All you single ladies (and solo travelers): Are you comfortable using rideshares?

I know what you mean amigo. Living like that is not living, but a bit of paranoia is healthy too.
You want irony? I remember quoting much the same to you when you were worried about visiting DS because of security issues. :rofl::joy::rofl:

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I think part of what’s got rideshare safety top of mind in the U.S. is the female college student in South Carolina who was kidnapped and murdered earlier this year by someone she believed to be her Uber driver.

That said, I think if you use your head and follow all safety precautions, rideshare is perfectly safe.

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Weve had some issues down here with that actual driver, obviously they know who it is but im not very observant. I forget things too. I personally wouldnt be comfortable. But, also realizing, i generally only get in the car with my husband driving or I will drive, other ppls cars if i have to, lol. Maybe my fear is misprojected, hmmm…

That’s obviously very shocking and distressing.

However, Uber provides literally millions of rides per day. Stories like the one you mention hit the headlines precisely because they are rare. Many, many, many times more Americans are killed in generic car crashes. These almost never make the news because they happen so frequently — around a hundred deaths per day in the US.

This compares with about fifty murders per day in the US.

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I wasn’t serious about that. I was trying to make one of my regular anti-America points. You know, the whole “you people all have guns and are crazy” thing.

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But how many crimes occurred while walking to/from the bus, parking lot, or trolley stop? Those fly under the media’s radar because they don’t involve rideshare.

Given the options, Uber/Lyft are actually the safest way to get around unless you have a private car and use valet parking.

The safest option, of course, is staying at home. Maybe. It depends on ones neighborhood, I guess.

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True. But as you can see here, there is a very real anxiety we women have in certain circumstances:
You alone in a male filed metro train? Anxiety.
You alone on a street and two men coming toward you or behind you? Anxiety.
Taking a cab alone? Anxiety.
You have to deal with it, you have to live with it, you have to bear it. But it is there and it is quite real, no matter your upbringing or where you live.
Sure, there are more dangerous activities than walking home at night for a few blocks, but I’ll be darned if most women worldwide won’t nod when they read this. You can’t live like this, but we do. All over the world, on a daily basis.

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You mean US America or North America or continental America ‘cause we Mexicans fer sure are crazy, but average we can’t afford guns. We use machetes!

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Right—I was just saying that’s what has it on people’s minds over here. I’m in full agreement with you!

I believe rideshare to be fully safe, especially when you stay aware of what’s around you.

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U are very correct. Im right outside of a city with major crime issues.

For the record, I’m female.

My point is not to trivialize people’s concerns but to simply point out that Uber is likely to be safer than other forms of transportation, not riskier. Of course women are anxious about traveling alone- but they shouldn’t be MORE anxious about rideshare. That’s all I’m saying.

I’m lucky to live in a very safe town in a very safe state, however. The police here mostly hand out speeding tickets and shoo the bears out of downtown.

A couple of months ago, I was down in Denver picking up my husband’s SUV from the dealer, and he went to great pains to point out that the gas cap was on the driver’s side. I didn’t see the advantage as all our other cars fill up on the passenger side. He said, “Most ladies really like that, they think it’s safer.” Wow, am I glad I don’t live like that, I’m sorry & sad that others have to.

Plus, as to @sanstitre_has_left_the_building’s point, many people up here are armed. A criminal has to guess who is and who isn’t. Maybe they just don’t want to risk it.

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Yep, down south too!

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I think this is the crux of it right here.

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Erm, no. Contrary to the NRA’s propaganda, research conclusively proves that more guns are linked to more crimes, including crimes against the person like murder and rape. The sooner we can get rid of this “good guy with a gun” fantasy the better.

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CC It’s not a “good guy with a gun,” scenario, it’s more like herd immunity.

Whether guns are a problem or asset depends on the reason for gun ownership and other cultural norms. Once you start digging into the numbers, very different pictures start to emerge depending on where one is in the country. My state and nearby states have high gun ownership levels, primarily for sporting use, and low crime rates. My town is exactly like this town in every way, (except we have a smaller Mormon population). https://www.businessinsider.com/small-town-america-culture-shock-2019-8

A cursory glance at the statistics shows that Wyoming, which has the most guns per capita, has among the lowest murder rates. On the other hand, there’s Alaska which you’d think would be similar to WY but in actuality has a much higher rate of violent crime.

Everybody thinks Texas has a lot of guns, but they’re minor league compared to places like Montana and Idaho- which are pretty safe places to live.

So there isn’t really a straightforward correlation, but I’d guess overall crime rates & population density factor significantly into whether or not guns are protective or harmful overall.

Because DC also has very high gun ownership- with very, very different crime stats compared to Wyoming. Different culture, different reasons for being armed, and very sadly, different outcomes.

And that’s all I’m going to say on this topic, we’re off the rails already!

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So, this showed up in my Facebook feed this morning.
:rofl:

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That is hilarious! Mostly because I am in rural Idaho right now visiting my inlaws!

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I live in rural Idaho, so maybe I should give this a try and report back here with how safe I felt during the ride. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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This looks like a fun pass time!:grinning:

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:rage: Humph.

:grin:

Well, at least y’all didn’t make a bunch of potato jokes about Iowa… :joy: Which happened to me when I lived there!
So there’s that.

I did find this in my email today, from Uber. Not sure if it makes me feel better or worse about using them, but they do have a review of how to take appropriate precautions:

https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/safety/#emergency

Interestingly, there is no mention of what to do if you’re out of cell range when the tractor runs out of gas!

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