California-based Uber on Tuesday introduced a new feature that may remind riders to buckle up after they use the rideshare service. (Mike Dotta, Shutterstock)
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SALT LAKE CITY — Did you keep in mind to buckle up?
Uber is launching a new feature this week that may send app alerts to its rideshare clients at the beginning of a new journey, reminding them to put on a seat belt through the journey. There may also be a “distinctive chime” from the driving force’s telephone that may remind passengers to buckle up the second they get inside a car, firm officers mentioned Tuesday.
Riders will proceed to obtain seat belt alerts for his or her subsequent 5 journeys after which “periodically thereafter,” in accordance to Uber. The determination to add the feature got here from a assessment of statistics and suggestions from Uber drivers, the California-based firm added.
“Buckling up is one of the most effective ways to help keep yourself and others in the vehicle safe in a crash,” mentioned Kristin Smith, the pinnacle of worldwide street safety coverage for Uber, in a assertion. “By leveraging technology to remind riders to buckle up, we hope to increase seat belt use and potentially save lives.”
Most Uber passengers journey within the again seat, so the feature will not be a main change for a lot of Utahns. The Beehive State is just one of 21 states that do have major legal guidelines that implement the use of rear seat belts, in accordance to the nationwide roadway safety coalition Advocates For Highway and Auto Safety.
That mentioned, each Utah and U.S. visitors consultants say they’re involved about latest seat belt developments. Utah Department of Public Safety officers have mentioned seat belt use in Utah dropped to 88% in 2021, a five-year low within the state.
While which means most Utahns are nonetheless sporting seat belts, multiple in 10 Utahns do not. The company discovered that 74 deaths on Utah roads final 12 months concerned somebody who was not restrained, which accounted for about one in 4 2021 roadway deaths.
“That is such a no-brainer. The one thing every single one of us can do as soon as we get into a vehicle,” mentioned Utah Highway Patrol Col. Michael Rapich, throughout a press briefing about 2021 Utah visitors developments held final month.
Utah’s seat belt utilization charge additionally fell beneath the nationwide common final 12 months. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the nationwide seat belt charge was 90.4% in 2021. That’s nonetheless manner too low for federal safety consultants.
During the Advocates For Highway and Auto Safety’s annual safety report media briefing on Jan. 18, Alan Maness, the vice chairman of federal affairs and counsel for the insurance coverage large State Farm, mentioned upwards of two,000 Americans who die yearly in visitors crashes could be alive in the event that they wore seat belts.
And folks within the again seat of a car are extra probably to overlook. One survey within the 2022 Advocates For Highway and Auto Safety report discovered that about 40% of individuals mentioned they do not at all times put on a seat belt within the again seat of a car.
Jonathan Adkins, the manager director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, mentioned in a assertion Tuesday that this pattern is much more frequent in rideshare autos “even though the simple act of buckling up can save your life in the event of a crash.”
That’s a mindset Uber officers say they’re making an attempt to change with their new alert feature.
So whenever you hail your subsequent journey, count on an additional alert and do not forget to buckle up.