While many think it is safer to travel by ridesharing services like Grab, it is quite the contrary nowadays. A woman was almost raped by a person impersonating a Grab driver when she failed to check the licence plate of the car before getting into the vehicle in KL.
Not only did she fail to check on the licence plate, she even got the car’s model wrong and simply got on the vehicle when she got a notification that her driver has arrived. This clearly isn’t the first time this incident has happened in our country and definitely won’t be the last. So what can we do to prevent this from happening in the future?
So far, Grab has taken some precautions on the app itself. While traveling with the rideshare service, you’ll be able to see where you are at that particular moment as the car moves. Make sure to always be vigilant and check if the driver has gotten off route. Since the app does have times where it tends to bug out in terms of location, it is always safer to have a GPS app such as Google Maps or Waze on to make sure you’re on the right track.
In addition, if something were to happen during the ride itself, Grab has an emergency button at the top of the screen that appears during the ride. There, you’ll be able to choose between 2 options, call the police, where the app will notify the police where you are at that moment as well as the driver’s identity and vehicle or you can notify your emergency contacts. You’re able to add 3 contacts to your emergency list on Grab which will notify them whenever you use the rideshare app as well if you enable it on your app.
While it is good that Grab has implemented some measures for its riders’ safety, it is always good to take precautionary steps before getting on the vehicle. Most importantly would be the lesson we learnt from what happened to the woman earlier: Always check the driver’s car model and licence plate before getting in. Also good to note is the number of stars the driver has which indicates whether you’ll be dealing with a problematic driver or a good one.
Besides that, it is always good to let someone know where you are and how you are getting there. To be safe, you can always screenshot your driver’s Grab profile and send it to them just in case something happens so that they can contact the authorities if you go missing or injured. Make sure you be aware of your surroundings during transit and never, ever sleep in a Grab car in case the driver tries to take advantage of you.
You can always bring some items for self defence such as pepper spray, a mace and etc. Grab does have some guidelines when it comes to harrassment and safety for both their drivers and riders on their website but personally, I feel like it is a lot lackluster and leaves a lot to be desired so it is better to take caution. Remember, it is always better to be safe and sorry. What other precautions do you take when using a ridesharing app? Let us know! For more life hacks, tips and tricks, make sure you check out TechNave.com!
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