Uber Drivers Get Mandated Six-Hour Rest Breaks

Ride-hailing service Uber doesn’t want drivers in the United States to be on the road when they’re very tired or drowsy which is why it has now mandated that drivers take six-hour rest breaks after they’ve spent 12 hours on the road online. Uber drivers who have picked up rides for 12 hours straight will now be forced to take a six-hour break. This mandated break is similar to the one Uber implemented in the UK last month.

Drivers will receive three warnings, the first after 10 hours of being online. The app will force them to stop after 12 hours by going offline which means that they will no longer be able to pick rides until the six hours are up.

Uber said in a statement that the idea behind this move is to prevent drowsy driving from causing accidents. Drowsy driving is already blamed for causing 4,000 accidents annually in the country.

The feature will count most driving time when it’s calculating when a driver’s 12 hour limit is up, it includes the time they spend at a light but doesn’t include the time they spend waiting for a passenger in the airport parking lot. Uber says that it has relied on driver experience and road safety groups to calculate these totals.

This change isn’t going to affect the vast majority of Uber drivers who don’t use the app for more than ten hours every day anyway. Those who want to drive for more than 12 hours could simply go offline on Uber and start driving for another ride-hailing service, even though they should probably take a break by then.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Uber