Live data from Hacker News

Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

npr.org

1–10 of 80 posts

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#2
I'm wondering if their thesis if off: is this due to where uber is rather than cost

Ie - suburban to exburban uber is just expensive and rare, (low coverage), and therefore people are more likely to drunk drive. I mean, how many taxis to start with are there in small suburban towns?

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#6

Commonsense says this study is flawed in someway. Uber has giving millions and millions of car rides with drunk people, and how many of those wouldn't ride with a sober friend or take the time to call a cab?

Or perhaps the study says that common sense is flawed in some way? If the study holds up to scrutiny (not saying it will) then updating to have new common sense is the whole point.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#7
I live in Boston. Until uber, the minimum taxi fair was $6, they always had broken credit card machines, and there was never enough cabs when you needed them. I remember s New Year's Eve where we had to promise the dispatcher we would pay a $100 tip to get anyone to pick us up. The "reducing drunk driving" theory was a happy side effect but ultimately not important. Über destroyed a a BS industry full of idiots and made it professional and reliable.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#9
So responsible people are trading Yellow taxis for Über and irresponsible people are still driving while intoxicated. Or, alternatively, the amount of drunk drivers is so huge that whatever number taxis and Uber take off the streets is negligible in relative numbers.

But ride services want to promulgate the idea to cities they bring safety in order to counterbalance the annoyed voices of the yellow cabs decrying the conditions the ride service drivers must endure...

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#10
I'm suspicious. It seems the study may only be regressing on 'availability' of Uber – the single bit flag of whether it has launched in a city. If adoption is gradual, as the habits of drinkers/drivers change over months (or years), beneficial effects might not be seen by such a study, or remain hidden by all the other controls applied.

The best analysis would likely need to use ride volume data; there's no hint in this study's abstract they've done that, and the paper is paywalled.

Post reply on HN