Uber’s latest app update is bringing an interesting change for busy US drivers. Earlier this year, Uber implemented a six hour break policy on UK drivers that work for 10 hours straight and now the company is bringing a similar change to American drivers, but with a slightly change.
For American drivers, Uber will be implementing a 12 hour policy where drivers that reach that limit will need to take a six hour rest before they can resume working. Uber’s app will issue three warnings, starting after 10 hours of straight driving, before going offline and completely forcing drivers to stop and take rest. Their aim is to put a halt to drowsy driving that causes 4,000 accidents a year, the said in a statement.
The new feature will count most driving time, which includes being stopped at a light, with the exception of a few things like when you’re waiting in an airport parking lot for your customer(s). The company said that it took driver experience and road safety groups feedback to calculate the totals it came up with. “There’s definitely a lot of third-party expertise that has gone into our thinking,” Uber safety head Sachin Kansal told TechCrunch. “But it’s also that we know how our drivers drive, we know road conditions, so we have baked all that into it as well.”
While Uber is implementing this new policy, it wont affect most drivers because over 60 percent of drivers don’t use Uber for more than 10 hours a day. It’s also likely that the app won’t even stop those that work more than 12 hours. Sherpashare, a driver assistant app, estimated that nearly three-quarters of drivers use more than one service. Basically, drivers can work with Uber for the first 12 hours, and then shift to another service like Lyft until they can use Uber again.
