Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving • Hacker News Board

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#361

Post by wapz » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 1:23 AM UTC

Kihashi wrote: post #255

wapz wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 20+ miles out in the middle of nowhere That's the reason there are no cabs and I don't blame cab drivers. They don't get paid to sit around 40 minutes to find a passenger. I'm surprised that finding an uber in one of those places is not difficult either. Outside of the US, a lot of the population is very condensed (well the US is to some degree) making cabs and public transportation much more efficient/effective IM…

I remember reading a post from an Uber driver in a small town. Basically, instead of idling, he'd just use his house as a waiting area. So instead of just waiting around, he'd be at home, doing other stuff until he got an rider. Then he'd get in his car and drive them where they needed to be.

If he lived next to the bars or downtown that would probably be reasonable, but I can't imagine he would bring in too much money (as opposed to living in a large metropolitan area).

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#362

Post by areyousure » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 2:20 AM UTC

elliotec wrote: post #315

dmoy wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually still .08, not .05 (yet). It will be in about 1.75 years from now if there's no successful repeal before then. Given the LDS majority in the state, good chance it will stand in some form.

This is the least important issue of all time but somehow it is getting the most press. It should just pass and be done with. By the way I get annoyed when people say LDS is the majority here - LDS only makes up 41% of the entire state, and closer to 30% in SLC. The citizens aren't voting on this bill anyway.

For anyone looking into this, the first sentence of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Utah#Religion literally says "A majority of the state's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)."

The lowball estimates of 41% come from things like the following: "Professor Tim Heaton, who studies LDS demographics for church-owned Brigham Young University, says the county numbers probably come from church membership rolls, and that between half and one-third of those people are not active in the faith. If that's true, then, at most, 41.6 percent of Utahns are church-going Mormons." (2005 source http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_2886596 ) It's at least slightly nontrivial to decide on the right definition, but I think church membership is a perfectly fine measurement.

As such, almost every other publication and measurement supports the "obvious" claim that Utah has a Mormon majority of (60+some)% and even Salt Lake County may have a (50+epsilon)% Mormon majority.

Exampe source from 2014: http://www.sltrib.com/news/1842825-155/mormon-populace-picks...

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#363

Post by overcast » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 2:35 AM UTC

magic_beans wrote: post #340

overcast wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's extremely shameful, and embarrassing here. No one looks up to you for that shit. Unfortunately we don't make it very easy for drunks to get home, so they do stupid things.

Where do you live? It's "shameful" in the US to, but it still happens.

New York

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#364

Post by tgjsrkghruksd » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 4:16 AM UTC

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #169

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't that, the cab rides are never just $20, and often there are no cabs at all. The USA just has crappy non car transportation options. And it isn't just an hour walk in many places, but a few hours walk on dark streets with no side walks. When I was living in the Deep South, I sometimes had to take people home 20+ miles out in the middle of nowhere.

I used to think the same - I've lived in plenty of places with no public transportation. No choice, I'd say, bemoaning the lack of decent public transport. But then I was in a similar situation off in a small town in Norway. I was at a 80th birthday party in a small town. Most of the attendees were drunk. Everyone already knew someone to take them home, and organized themselves accordingly, some waiting a bit for the…

I really doubt the penalties are harsher in Norway.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#365

Post by jle » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 9:11 AM UTC

ericfrederich wrote: post #211

Let's file this one under "duh" It's not ride-hailing apps themselves. Has nothing to do with the fact that it's someone else's car or that you use an app instead of a phone number to order it. It's the fact that you can get home now for $10 only waiting 5 minutes from the time you decided you want to leave.... compared to paying $60 and waiting an hour.

Even if it's something we already knew, it's nice to see data confirming.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#366

Post by lazyasciiart » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 9:14 AM UTC

derefr wrote: post #328

metafunctor wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has always amazed me how casually people drink and drive in some countries; the US especially springs to mind. Over here, drinking and driving is an extremely shameful and embarrassing thing to do. I would say it's on par with hitting a child. You just don't do it, not to save 20 bucks, or to save you from walking an hour.

The [rural] US is much, much more spread out than most countries. This means that people in the rural US think of driving as a necessary and basic component of life; driving is just "how you get places", if there are places you need to get. So drinking and driving, though shameful, is necessarily normalized (not wholly, but somewhat) by people who are drunk, and yet need to go places. That, and by the fact that in a…

It's a common misconception that rural roads are safer than urban, but it's just not true. The fatality rate is higher on rural roads (both in total and per mile driven) and rural roads are massively over represented in road accident stats for the percentage of the population that lives in them. Shitty google AMP link to a pdf: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/...

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#367

Post by sleepyhead » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 12:29 PM UTC

jnordwick wrote: post #78

qyv wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not he accessibility of ride-sharing services that is doing this, it is the ride-sharing services policy of artificially low pricing to facilitate rapid growth that is responsible. Those $9 rides are not sustainable. When the prices go back up to sustainable levels we will see many of these benefits evaporate.

And like you know, all the other things he listed: > it's easy to call one from a crowded/loud place, you know how much it will cost, they don't use cash, they know where you are, and you don't have to give directions. p.s., why do people like you want to hate on ride sharing services so much? Is it just that nothing can ever be good enough in your mind?

> p.s., why do people like you want to hate on ride sharing services so much? Is it just that nothing can ever be good enough in your mind?

What a strange way to respond to valid criticism. Flip this: why do people like you refuse to see these issues? No one is saying that the Uber experience, app, upfront pricing, etc. is the issue. I think everyone is positive to those innovations in the market.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#368

Post by skrebbel » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 12:32 PM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #279

skrebbel wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes sense, but if you know that your only way back home is your car and you still pop the cork, you're acting like a bad person in my book ("hitting a child" level indeed).

Please note that I've never driven while drunk, I don't even drink that much, and I've always been the one to take people home who were drunk. Understanding why people do shit is quite different from condoning shit.

Oh sorry! I meant "you" as in "one". I didn't mean you personally! :-) Quite the contrary, and I didn't read your post as condoning anything.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#369

Post by Mo3 » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 1:55 PM UTC

magic_beans wrote: post #337

Mo3 wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Bavaria. Everyone drives over the limit if home is not too far away. Noone ever gets caught. I on the other hand have lost my license for smoking weed 2 days earlier. Sigh..

Is it common to smoke in public places?

No. You go to jail. Drinking in public places is however legal and appreciated.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#370

Post by saddestcatever » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 2:51 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #26

I've wondered if cell phones have led to fewer altercations on subways as people spend more time focused on them, giving them less reason or chance to argue and fight with others.

That's a funny hypothesis to think about. I wish there was a good data set we could analyze on this matter. I'd really like to be able to answer the question: "Have smartphones reduced human interaction. Especially with strangers."