‘This is so scary’: Woman says Lyft driver watched explicit video on his phone during ride
A woman says that her Lyft driver watched pornography on his phone and showed her an explicit photo of himself while driving.
In a TikTok posted on Saturday, New York-based TikToker Leah (@leahisliving) says that while riding in a Lyft, her driver was watching porn. She also says he displayed a photo of his penis on his phone while staring at her in the rearview mirror.
Leah says she reported the interaction to Lyft and was refunded for her ride.
"Be f*cking careful," Leah says in her video. "Because apparently we can't even be in the f*cking car and get home safe without some weird sh*t happening."
On Monday, Leah's video had over 140,000 views on TikTok. The Daily Dot reached out to Leah, Lyft, and the New York Police Department.
@leahisleaving #nyc #lyft #brooklyn #lowereastside #fyp #boost ♬ original sound - leah 😇
Many commenters urged the creator to file a police report. Others expressed support and shared their methods for ensuring safety when using rideshare services.
"I've stopped putting my real address and instead put a business nearby," one commenter wrote. "Then walk just in case."
"Always pretend you're on the phone, sit behind the driver," another advised. "And have your keys ready [between] your knuckles."
In 2018, a CNN investigation revealed that over 100 Uber drivers had been accused of sexual assault and misconduct; in a lawsuit obtained by BuzzFeed News in 2019, Lyft also received nearly 100 reports of sexual assault by drivers.
Lyft responded by disclosing statistics regarding how many drivers had been accused of sexually assaulting passengers in its 2021 safety report: From 2017 to 2019, over 1,000 Lyft passengers each year said they had been sexually violated by their Lyft driver.
Lyft also received seven sexual assault reports in one day in 2019. Passengers said they did not receive refunds for their rides, even though they reported the misconduct.
In addition to statistics surrounding sexual misconduct, Lyft’s safety report details its location-sharing services and the background checks performed on drivers.
Uber’s report also speaks to its safety technology and states that when the company receives a report of sexual assault—either from a rider or driver—the accused party loses access to their Uber account until an investigation has been completed.
Both reports also state that drivers’ and riders’ cellphone numbers are not shared with each other when they are in contact.
Though Leah says in her TikTok that Lyft’s customer support team was “pretty helpful,” commenters urged the company to do more to address inappropriate interactions between drivers and riders.
“@Lyft please include an option to cancel live active rides longer than 5 mins after pickup,” a commenter wrote.
“Refunded for the ride is the minimum,” another said. “I’m sorry you went through that.”
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