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Businesses Transportation Hardware Technology

Uber Knowingly Leased Unsafe Cars To Drivers, Says Report (usatoday.com) 35

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Uber knowingly rented recalled Honda sports utility vehicles to its drivers in Singapore, where at least one of which caught fire. USA Today reports: The paper reported Uber's Singapore office bought more than 1,000 Honda Vezel sports utility vehicles to rent to its drivers there. The cars contained a faulty electrical part that could catch on fire and Honda had recalled in Japan and elsewhere. There had been at least six reports of fires in the Vezel. In a statement Uber said that as soon as it learned of a Honda Vezel catching fire, it took swift action to fix the problem, coordinating with Singapore's Land Transport Authority as well as technical experts. However it acknowledged that it could have done more. The company said it has since introduced robust protocols and hired three dedicated experts in Singapore to ensure that it is fully responsive to safety recalls.
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Uber Knowingly Leased Unsafe Cars To Drivers, Says Report

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  • by Kohath ( 38547 ) on Thursday August 03, 2017 @08:56PM (#54937533)

    This is a nothing story. Cars have recalls all the time. You go to the dealer and they get fixed. What's the difference if Uber leased a car expecting drivers to go get it fixed?

    If you're an obsessed Uber-hater, then "OMG!!!! This is 1 million smoking guns at once!!!". Give the hate a rest. No one wants to hear about your ridiculous obsessions or conspiracy theories or WTF ever.

    • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      In the race to the bottom, many will die and those who do the racing do not care, not one iota, if fact it gets them off to see others die as a result of their decisions and getting away with it. No conspiracy, just psychopaths at work, doing what they normally do, more for me and fuck everyone else.

      • by Kohath ( 38547 )

        "Race to the bottom" is "slippery slope" (a.k.a. "fear mongering"). If you have an "A leads to B and here's why" argument, then make it. Otherwise stop trolling.

      • In the race to the bottom, many will die

        Zero have died. Also zero injuries. Plus the problem has been fixed, so the number of deaths and injuries will continue to be zero forever.

        Why is there no Slashdot headline for the zero aliens that attacked Earth yesterday? That is a much more important non-story.

        • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          English is a language, it involves grammar, which incorporates things like past tense and future tense.
          will verb 1. expressing the future tense.
          have verb 1. used with a past participle to form the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, and the conditional mood.

          Sorry to go all grammar nazi on you, but apparently you require it, perhaps English as a second language has you confused.

          Yes, just like all others industries, racing to the bottom leads to pain, suffering and death on the part of workers a

          • will verb 1. expressing the future tense.

            Except there is no "future" here. The problem is fully resolved. No one was harmed. No one will be harmed. It is over. Other than just gratuitous Uber-bashing, it is a non-story.

            • by GlennC ( 96879 )

              Except there is no "future" here. THIS problem is fully resolved. No one was harmed. No one will be harmed.

              FTFY...unless you're a time traveler, can you be sure that there won't be a problem in the future? Somebody, somewhere won't skip maintenance to save their meager earnings and get into an accident as a result? Or a driver will go until exhaustion to get one more fare?

        • by Kohath ( 38547 )

          Breaking news: Uber failed to prevent an invasion of Japan by fire ants! [japantimes.co.jp]

          In a shocking display of indifference and hubris, Uber drivers maintained their normal schedule yesterday even as reports of invasive biting fire ants alarmed and troubled residents of Japan. "I think they should have done something. You know, if they could," said one resident who requested to remain anonymous.

          The White House press room declined to comment other than saying this story is "fake news".

    • and when the driver get's fired for logging dealer time as working hours and is forced to pay a lease break fee then what?

  • Wow. Jumped on the ole "throw some shade at Uber" train, did we? Dealers in the US sell cars that are under recall all the time and are not required to tell the buyer.
  • Can uber hide under there not so independent contractor to get out having to pay out if some got hurt??

    Use an EULA to get out of it?

    • What do you need a EULA for? I don't know of anyone who leases a car to someone and then expects to own the liability.

      Hell I'm leasing a car right now. If there's a product recall it's still up to me to go drive the car to the shop to get it fixed, much like it's up to me to get it serviced, not crash it, or generally look after myself.

      • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Depends when the recall is announced...
        If the recall occurred *before* you leased the car, then you should reasonably expect for the lease company to have resolved the problem before supplying the car to you.
        If the recall occurs *after* you took possession of the car, then you'd expect whoever you lease the car from to inform you of the recall, and to ensure you're provided with a courtesy car while the work is being carried out. After all, if you earn a living as a cab driver the last thing you want is to

  • by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ) on Friday August 04, 2017 @09:52AM (#54939889)

    Has there been any other company in recent times that has had so much constant and invariably negative press?

    The PR people at Uber must be wondering what they can do to help. Seems like every week there's a negative report about Uber, and almost never anything positive about them.

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