A Fort Lauderdale woman sparks safety concerns after sharing her experience with an Uber driver who locked his doors and asked to kiss her.
What did this driver do?
On May 11, Lauren Becker (@lauren.becker30) posted a TikTok about an Uber driver locking the doors and attempting to kiss her despite her saying no. The video has elicited concern and outrage. It has reached over 487,000 views as of Monday.
Becker recalled that she went to a bar with a friend and decided to call an Uber as it was getting late. However, two minutes before her ride was scheduled to arrive, her phone died.
Around that time, another car with an Uber sign had arrived. However, the driver told her he was there to pick up another passenger. She described seeing another woman nearby, who had the same name as the person the driver had said he was picking up.
Becker said since they were both headed to the same destination, she got in the Uber with the woman.
“So I get in the Uber with her and everything’s fine in the Uber and I think her and I were like chit chatting a little,” she said. “And we finally get to the front of this girl’s apartment complex and we both get out of the car.”
Things get weird
Becker said her destination was only about a one-minute walk from where the driver dropped her off. However, the Uber driver offered to drive her there.
“As I’m walking, the Uber driver is kind of just like stood still,” she described. “And then he started moving his car towards me and rolled his window down and was like, ‘I really don’t think it’s safe for you to walk alone here at night. Let me drive you to where you need to be.’”
Becker said she accepted the offer because she didn’t know the area well, her phone was dead, and she was alone. “So I get in the Uber and I get back in Uber and the guy goes, ‘Just like sit in the front,’” she said.
“The second I get in the car, this man proceeds to grab my hand very aggressively and kiss it,” she said.
Becker describes that the driver kept talking to her after they had already arrived at her destination. Then he locked the doors and asked her to kiss him, which she said she declined.
Becker continued, “He then proceeded to get a little aggressive with me and said, ‘not even a kiss on the cheek,’ and I said, ‘No, I’m going home.'”
“I hear horrifying stories about other girls being in Ubers, and I just never thought something like this would ever happen to me,” said Becker.
Uber faces backlash
“Report him to Uber and do a police report,” said one user.
“As a girl that lives in this area-this is so terrifying,” wrote one commenter.
“Ladies pls make sure you never leave home without a full charged phone,” commented a third.
Sexual assault and harassment incidents from rideshare drivers are not unprecedented. A 2022 report from Uber showed that 2020 saw 998 sexual assault incidents. In response to a 2018 CNN investigation, Uber and Lyft pledged to put together safety transparency reports, having released reports in December 2019 and June 2022.
@lauren.becker30 I’m posting this in hopes to find the girl I had taken the uber with so I can get the drivers information and hopefully prevent this from happening to another woman. #ftlauderdale #southflorida #laudy ♬ original sound – Lauren Becker
The Mary Sue reached out to Becker and Uber for comment.
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