Man Cancels His Uber. Then He Gets In And Demands A Ride Anyway: 'Trying To Scam Me'

Rideshare drivers deal with a lot. Drunk passengers, people throwing up in their cars, people getting back from the beach and making their car wet and sandy. Odors.

But few are as brazen as the passengers who try to scam the driver out of a ride. In a recent example, the passengers didn't just refuse to leave, they threatened their driver in the process.

A dashcam video recently reposted by @copsauditing2 racked up 319,000 views and showed one of the uncomfortable and scary situations some rideshare drivers encounter.

What Should the Uber Driver Have Done?

The video, which appears to be dashcam footage, opens mid-confrontation, with two passengers in the backseat and the driver firmly telling them to leave.

"Tried to scam me for a free ride,” the text overlay on the video reads.

"You canceled the ride," the driver says. "You literally canceled the ride, look at my phone. Look at my phone. I don't even have a ride."

As the driver tried to show him, one passenger pushed back, insisting the driver figure it out.

The passenger argues that his girlfriend booked the ride and already got charged so the driver has to take him. He also claims the driver cancelled, not his girlfriend.

"Why would I cancel the ride, bro?" the driver says.

The back-and-forth continues. The passenger tells the driver he's "doing too much" and insists he's not moving. The driver's response stays consistent. Over and over he tells the men to get out of his car.

At one point, the passenger offers cash, trying to turn the Uber into an off-platform ride, but the driver refuses.

"I don't accept cash. It's an Uber. You pay with debit or credit."

"This is a taxi now,” the passenger replies.

Then things get more serious. "Do you care about your face though?" the passenger asks threateningly.

"You're not gonna touch me because you're going to jail if you touch me," the driver retorts.

Then the passenger says they won't get caught, to which the driver points out that “they have your information." 

At that point, the driver removes his seatbelt and again tells them to get out of his car, but this time he adds, “Before I call the cops.” 

That’s what finally does it and the pair leave.

"You're trying to [expletive] scam me in the first place," the driver says as they go.

What Does Uber's Policy Say?

According to Uber's Community Guidelines, if a rider is too drunk or rowdy, drivers have the right to decline the trip for the rider's own safety.

What the guidelines don't spell out in detail is what a driver is supposed to do when a passenger is already in the car and refuses to leave.

Uber's support line is available, and calling the police is always an option, but in the moment, drivers are largely on their own to figure it out.

What Are The Stats?

Unfortunately, there isn’t reliable data on how often drivers are threatened or harmed by passengers.

A 2024 US Government Accountability Office report on rideshare and taxi safety noted that there is no federal requirement to collect data specifically on assaults against drivers and passengers of rideshare vehicles and taxis. 

While some federal databases track certain incidents, the available data doesn't fully describe the extent of assaults in the industry.

The three major rideshare companies that do voluntarily publish safety reports—Uber, Lyft, and HopSkipDrive—only publicly disclose fatal physical assaults and the most serious categories of sexual assault. Non-fatal physical confrontations, threats, and incidents like the one in this video go largely uncounted.

People who watched the video were naturally concerned for the driver. Many felt he should’ve immediately called the policy.

“He wasted too much time. Call the police,” one said. “Just call the cops why u arguing,” another agreed.

A different commenter wondered if Uber knew about the incident. “Can you report what they did to Uber?” they asked.

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One seemed to think this episode was a reason to avoid working in the industry. “This is exactly why I don’t drive for people,” they said.

Motor1 reached out to @copsauditing2 for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Uber via email. We'll be sure to update this if they respond.

 

 

 

 

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