It seems that Uber is taking steps to monitor their drivers’ behaviour as the company is putting a new feature on trial in Houston, Texas.
According to The Guardian, Uber has been quietly monitoring the movements of its drivers in an attempt to flag up dangerous driving. As smartphones come with gyroscopes, accelerometers and GPS, Uber is attempting to use the driver’s own smartphone to acquire data on whether or not they have been breaking speed limits or even playing with their phone while the vehicle is still in motion. During the trial period, the data recorded by the phones will not be accessed by Uber unless a customer files a complaint about the driving standards of that particular driver. Whether or not this policy will change after Uber decides to roll out this feature is uncertain.
Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan has said that Uber is currently considering always-on monitoring of driving standards, but that system will be tested out on a later date. For now, this initiative allows Uber to fact-check complaints and to keep the company’s rating system on the rails.
Source : Ars Technica, The Guardian
