Police are investigating what caused an Uber driver, carrying a passenger, to speed recklessly up a residential street in downtown Boston and wind up crashing through a brick wall of a Beacon Hill building. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, in the incident.  It has been revealed, however, that the Uber driver has multiple driving violations dating back to 1986, with two incidents since 2010, including speeding citations in Avon, Brockton, Middleborough, Milton, Norwell and Roxbury. The driver’s record also includes two incidents of failure to stop in Avon and Dorchester and two additional citations for driving without an inspection sticker.

The driver also had their license suspended “several” times, according to an investigation into the driver’s driving record by WCVB. These suspensions happened once in 2002 and, most recently, the driver avoided a license suspension by paying his fine in time. His most recent infraction happened in 2015 for an improper turn in Watertown.  Uber has confirmed the identity of the driver and his wife confirmed that he had been driving for Uber for about three years. Uber reportedly reached out to the driver for information regarding the incident.

“He was going so fast…at least 70 miles per hour. Straight into the wall,” said one witness to the incident, which rocked the quiet Beacon Hill area of Grove and Pinckney Streets. Police also said that the car was involved in a motor vehicle collision on Cambridge Street, which runs adjacent to Grove Street. The driver has been in multiple motor vehicle crashes prior to this incident.  Uber contacted WCVB after the incident, reporting that the driver passed all the requirements and tests necessary to drive for the company. Uber’s official stance is that drivers must possess a “clean” driving record and must pass a criminal background check, which extends back seven years.

“Potential drivers must provide detailed information, including their full name, date of birth, social security number, driver’s license number, a copy of their driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance, and proof of a completed vehicle inspection,” Uber’s safety guidelines proclaims. “Individuals who pass the driving history screen then undergo a national, state, and local-level criminal history check that screens a series of national, state, and local databases including the US Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website, the PACER database, and several different databases used to identify suspected terrorists.”

So how, then, does a driver, such as the one who barreled through Beacon Hill into a brick wall after getting into an accident, drive for three years under their employment?

Uber remains a gray area

A quick Google search will confirm the unfortunate truth: Nobody is quite certain what to do yet in the unavoidable instance that an Uber driver gets into a vehicular accident. Uber has insisted in the past that any passengers caught up in the midst of an accident should go through their private insurance, but private insurance companies responded saying that they wouldn’t cover such incidents.

When it comes down to it, if you are injured in an accident through no fault of your own while riding as a passenger in a hailed-driving service such as Uber, your best course of action is to hire a legal team that can cut through the endlessly confusing and tangled red tape of third party agreements and hidden contracts you may or may not know that you agreed to.  At Altman & Altman LLP, we have the experience and the knowledge to figure out who is at fault, whether or not you have a viable case, and the ability to litigate your case or seek a proper settlement for your injuries. The only way to truly know what can be done is to consult with one of our legal professionals. And a consultation with us is completely free.

Call us today at 617-492-3000 or toll-free at 800-481-6199.  We are available 24/7.