RIDEGURU
How come no one ever talks about the physical side of Uber drivers. Everyone focuses on the background checks but shouldn't drivers have to be cleared from any pre-existing conditions that would make them dangerous drivers?? All taxi, public transportation drivers have to pass physicals and I think Uber drivers should too.
Should Uber drivers have to get physicals?
Posted 2 years, 5 months ago
Posted In
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Posted By
MikeMill
7
Ride Apprentice
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Comments
I can tell you what 30 plus years of driving gave me starting from the bottom : foot pain, vericose , leg cramps , hemmoroids, back pain, enlarged prostrate , digestive issues, acid reflux, finger and wrist pain neck pain and headaches .
Oof, that sucks! I hadn't thought about the opposite side of driver health like this either - the effects it has on the drivers. And of course it's not like Uber offers health insurance...
Seeing how drivers are contracted and not employees I don't think they can mandate physicals!!
There are a lot of dangerous rideshare drivers, but most are dangerous due to their driving habits and (in)experience, and not based on a physical disability. What situations have you seen that indicate that physical conditions are a problem?
I guess I haven't seen anything first hand, but this thought just struck me the other day. You could have a driver whose eyesight is poor or is at high risk for a stroke or heart attack while driving. I just find it interesting that there is no physical to become a rideshare driver.
Most Americans are "at risk" of heart attack or stroke, and having an arbitrary A1C requirement for consideration as a rideshare would unnecessarily destroy the pool of available drivers. You also (potentially) run into medical privacy issues, as well as violations of the ADA if disabled drivers are unreasonably excluded from employment.
My late husband, an absolutely ripped retired US Marine, died from a heart attack while working out. Sometimes bad things happen to physically fit people too. As a disabled driver who has driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the years, (with only one speeding ticket ~40 years ago) I'm as safe a driver as you can find, but because of a irrelevant disability, I'd probably be kicked to the curb. I just don't see the merit of "screening" for problems where none really exist.