NC lawmakers consider ways to make ride-sharing safer

A North Carolina lawmaker on Thursday announced a plan to require lighted signs on ride-share vehicles, two weeks after a South Carolina college student was murdered by someone she thought was her ride-share driver. .

The legislation by NC lawmakers mirrors an effort by lawmakers in South Carolina, whose state House passed the "Samantha Josephson Ride-sharing Safety Act" by a vote of 99-1.  

Josephson, a student at the University of South Carolina, was out with friends at Columbia's Five Points bar district when she got separated from the group and called an Uber to take her home around 1:30 a.m. on March 29, authorities said.

Josephson got into a car that wasn't her ride. The driver of that car has been charged in her slaying after she was abducted and killed. Her body was found in a field later that day.

State House majority leader John Bell, R-Wayne, said the tragic case grabbed national headlines, but it's hardly the first time criminals have impersonated ride-share drivers. He listed seven other cases over the past few years in which victims have been kidnaped and sexually assaulted, with most of those cases involving college students.

Most ride-sharing apps send a description of the vehicle, its license tag number and a photo of the driver. They recommend passengers check the information before getting in. But on a busy street, Bell said, it's still difficult sometimes to find the right car, especially at night, and sometimes drivers' photos don't seem to match up.

Bell said he encountered that problem personally last weekend, when he and his wife called for a ride, and a driver who didn't resemble his photo showed up in a car with no sign.

"A red flag flew up," Bell said at a news conference Thursday. "Don’t see the Uber symbol, guy looks different in the picture, you know – it makes you think. We're hoping to at least bring awareness that people need to be safe." 

Scott Maitland, owner of restaurant and brewery Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill, said ride-sharing has become the norm for college students. But they're at risk both from criminals impersonating ride-share drivers and from trying to enter private cars they sometimes mistake for their rides.

"This is something that we need to be cognizant of as a society, and not just take it for granted that everybody’s a well-intentioned actor," Maitland said.

"We are aware that this will not completely solve the problem," Bell said. "But we do believe this is the least intrusive way to ensure ride-sharing passengers are more easily able to identify their vehicle from a safe distance."

The proposal will be inserted into another measure that's expected to be on the state House floor next week. It has strong bipartisan support and is expected to easily pass both chambers.

The bill would also require drivers who quit working for ride-share companies to return their identifying signs to the company within 10 days. If the driver fails to return the sign, the company would be required to report their name and address to the state.

Uber and Lyft did not respond to WRAL's request for comment.