Am I the only person who laughs every time the taxi industry complains about how Uber is less "safe"? Their definition of "safety" is background checks for drivers. Well, I've never been robbed or attacked by either a taxi driver or Uber driver in the US, and I don't know anyone who has. Feeling safe from crime is not the issue.

The real safety issue to me is safety from motor vehicle injury. More than half the times I've hire a taxi I have feared for my health or the health of people in other cars on the road, as taxi drivers frequently violate numerous traffic laws-- not just by speeding a little, but by driving 20+ mph over the limit, weaving lanes, making illegal turns, ignoring the right-of-way of pedestrians in crosswalks, and on a few occasions driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Uber drivers are far safer drivers than this.