Uber and Lyft often tout the benefits of using rideshare companies such as the safety that their services bring to the roads, especially because they keep more drunk people out of the driver’s seat. Pedestrian crash lawyers have wondered if safety has actually increased since they began operations because there seem to be regular reports of rideshare vs. pedestrian accidents such as the 80-year-old pedestrian who was struck and seriously injured by an Uber driver on South Coast Highway earlier this month.
Apparently, researchers at the University of Chicago have been wondering the same thing as they recently released results of a study they conducted titled, ‘The Cost of Convenience: Ridesharing and Traffic Fatalities.’ The results they released were surprising in some ways, but not surprising in other ways.
Rideshare companies have long claimed to reduce traffic congestion, reasoning that people call rideshare vehicles when it is more convenient than taking their own vehicles out and they would eliminate that last mile problem between public transportation drop-off and a person’s home. Other benefits include motor vehicle emissions being reduced as a result of less traffic and safer roads because of the reduction of drunk driving incidents. Study results found that not only are some of these claims unfounded, they actually may all be unfounded.
See below for highlights of the University of Chicago study results.
Regardless of the study findings, Los Angeles pedestrian accident attorneys do not see Uber and Lyft leaving our city anytime soon. If you or a loved one has been struck by a rideshare or any other type of motor vehicle, contact our personal injury team at the Law Offices of Howard Craig Kornberg to discuss your accident and injuries sustained.