Breaking the rules doesn't require you to knee-cap your competition - but it says a lot about the ethics of your business. I wouldn't entrust my safety to a company that's so flagrant about their ethics.
Right, and when there are statistics showing that Uber drivers pose a greater danger to their passengers than any other road hazards created by unethical companies then the sentiment will be meaningful.
I don't disagree -- in fact, intuitively I'd imagine that Uber drivers reduce the risk to their passengers by displacing more dangerous drivers and reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
But my comment was really responding to SamReidHughes dismissal of the notion that there could possibly be any question of safety involved in these matters.
>I'd imagine that Uber drivers reduce the risk to their passengers by displacing more dangerous drivers and reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
Sounds most likely to me. Someone who drives 100k miles/year will on average by a safer driver than someone who drives 10k, both due to a wider experience base and by being far less likely to do something to jeopardise their license/insurance and hence their livelihood.
Over time, sure, but the outliers could be worse. Per Dunning Kruger, people who are bad at something often don't know that they're bad. If you take a bad driver who's desperate for extra cash and set them up with Uber, they might drive a lot of risky miles before their bad driving catches up with them in the form of a suspended license.
Well, it's worth noting you'd have to consider the risk to pedestrians, bicyclists, and people in other vehicles as well. Not that I have any reason to think they're more dangerous than normal cab drivers, who are shockingly reckless, at least in my experience as a cyclist.
That's also wrong, that "somebody" might be much more experienced in driving than you. One of the big problems with drivers (and humans in general) is the irrational feeling that being in control means being safer.
If we're talking about taxi drivers, it's reasonable to assume they're more experienced because they spent more hours on the road (unless, of course, you drive more than they do).
Violating regulations which, in themselves, are against the public interest? I don't see that as unethical. In fact, I see it as outright praiseworthy.
When the hell did Hacker News get filled with bean counters who tut-tut about municipal regulations?
