Uber 911 Button Now Available for All US Riders

Uber riders: If something goes incorrect and you need emergency assistance, you can now call 911 correct within the app.

Uber on Tuesday confirmed to PCMag that the 911 button it appear in Apr is now available for all United states riders. You tin can access this feature when you're on a trip by tapping the new safety badge icon (a shield with a checkmark inside of it) located on the Uber dwelling house screen. The 911 button should be specially helpful if you meet trouble and are unsure of your exact location.

"Once the passenger connects with 911, they tin can view their existent-time location, both on a map and as an accost, and then that they can hands share it directly with the 911 operator," Uber said.

Every bit part of this rollout, Uber is partnering with RapidSOS on a new "911 integration pilot" that gives riders in sure cities the choice to permit the app automatically share their location and trip details with 911 dispatchers when they call for help. Those cities include Denver; Charleston, S.C.; Nashville, Chattanooga, and Tri-Cities, Tenn.; Naples, Fla.; and Louisville, Ky. If you're not into that characteristic, yous tin can disable it via settings.

"While no one should ever have to call 911 when using Uber, no class of transportation is 100 percent free of incidents," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an April weblog post. "If ever faced with an emergency situation, we desire to help yous go the help you need."

In Apr, CNN reported that Uber passengers have reported at least 103 Uber drivers in the United states of america for sexual assault or abuse in the last four years.

Uber as well allows riders to designate up to 5 family members or friends as Trusted Contacts in the Uber app and set up prompts that volition remind you to share your trip details with those people before every ride or just when y'all're Ubering at night. That way, your loved ones will exist able to follow along and meet when y'all made it to your destination safely.

The new prophylactic features come as Uber deals with the repercussions of a fatal autonomous vehicle crash in Arizona this March. Co-ordinate to a preliminary report released final week by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Uber self-driving car that struck and killed the Arizona woman had detected her presence half dozen seconds before the collision, but failed to stop because the automated braking systems onboard were turned off.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's expert on fitness and smart home products. Didactics yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, heart charge per unit monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength grooming machines, treadmills, and more than. Angela likewise tests smart dwelling devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, just to proper name a few.