by News Desk | Dec 21, 2014 | World News
- South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver
- ‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted this morning
- Williams’ claim comes at a poor time for Uber who is fighting off sexual assault allegations in Boston and India earlier this month
South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver while getting a ride to her home in L.A.
‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted early this morning following the incident.
Uber issued an apology to Williams and told her they deactivated the driver and will do their best to prevent future incidents from occurring.
Reported the incident: South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver while getting a ride to her home in L.A.
Tweeted the incident: ‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted early this morning
Faulty background checks: The District Attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco filed a lawsuit against Uber for ‘flagrant and unlawful business practices,’ which include not issuing proper background checks
‘Uber has zero tolerance for this behavior, and we apologize to Ms. Williams for this terrible experience. We immediately deactivated the driver, and have begun an investigation,’ Kaitlin Durkosh, a spokesperson for Uber, told Mashable.
Nikki Williams has been living in the United States ever since she was 16-years-old when her family left their town in South Africa, ravaged by post-apartheid crime, to move to Nashville, says the singer’s Facebook Page.
Williams made the move to Los Angeles when she was 21, and shortly after signed with Breyon Prescott of Chameleon Entertainment.
The young singer boasts collaborations with a string of Grammy-winning hitmakers including Sandy Vee, Dallas Austin, and Rodney Jerkins.
Her songwriting credits include Lauren Alaina’s ‘Like My Mother Does’, Williams’ ‘Fly Away’ from the Country Strong and Demi Lovato’s ‘Heart Attack’
Her debut single ‘Kill, F**k, Marry.’ which was produced by Stargate and co-written by Sia Furler,was released on November 19, 2012.
Up and coming: Nikki Williams is a dynamic music artist from South Africa whose career is on the up and up
Taking the stage: The young singer boasts collaborations with a string of Grammy-winning hitmakers including Sandy Vee, Dallas Austin, and Rodney Jerkins
Her second single ‘Glowing’ was released on 4 December 2012 and her third single ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ was released on November 19, 2013.
Williams is currently performing on the road, and hopefully she won’t encounter any more shady characters .
The District Attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco filed a lawsuit against Uber for ‘flagrant and unlawful business practices,’ which include not issuing proper background checks for drivers in response to several criminal acts reported by passengers.
Williams’ claim comes at a poor time for Uber who is fighting off a string of sexual assault allegations in Boston and India earlier this month.
A Massachusetts Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had summoned the ride-sharing service.
Authorities say 46-year-old Alejandro Done was arraigned on Wednesday in Cambridge District Court.
The Boston man pleaded not guilty to charges including rape and kidnapping.
Investigators say Done picked up the woman in Boston on December 6. She had summoned an Uber driver to take her to her Cambridge home.
The pick-up spot: 46-year-old Alejandro Done allegedly picked up a woman from Tremont Street (pictured) then allegedly drove her to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her
Uber customers use a smartphone application to arrange and pay for rides with nearby drivers.
The driver allegedly told the woman that he would need a cash payment, so he took her to an ATM.
Authorities say he then drove her to a secluded location and sexually assaulted her.
The Wicked Local reports that Done drove to a location that she was not familiar with then her pulled over in a secluded area and jumped in the backseat where she was sitting.
He allegedly hit her and strangled her and locked the car doors so that she could not escape and covered her mouth so she could not scream. He then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.
Uber says it’s working closely with law enforcement to assist in the investigation.
‘This alleged predator took advantage of a young woman who trusted that he was who he portrayed himself to be and exploited her vulnerability once he had her in his car,’ said District Attorney Marian Ryan.
‘Every day people are engaging car services for their transportation needs, and placing their trust in them for their personal safety and security.
While these services are a convenience, and often a necessity of modern urban living, we urge everyone to take precautions to ensure they are as safe as possible,’ said Ryan.
In hauntingly similar case’s, three different women told Boston police that they were sexually assaulted over the weekend after getting into to cars they believed they ordered via ride sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft.
At least two of three women who police said were indecently assaulted Sunday while using ride-sharing services in Boston had ordered vehicles through Uber, according to authorities.
Police said on Monday night that all three incidents occurred early Sunday morning between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. in Dorchester, the Allston-Brighton area, and an unspecified location between Faneuil Hall and Dorchester.
First incident: The first incident occurred just before 1 a.m. last Sunday when a woman was picked up at Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road and a driver allegedly proceeded to touch her inappropriately
First incident: The first incident occurred just before 1 a.m. last Sunday when a woman was picked up at Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road and a driver allegedly proceeded to touch her inappropriately
The Boston Globe reports that the first incident occurred just before 1 a.m.last Sunday when a woman was picked up at Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road and a driver allegedly proceeded to touch her inappropriately.
She says she later got a text from her ride-share service saying her actual driver had arrived.
She ordered the car to stop and she ran out but police were not able to find the car she described being assaulted in.
At around 2:30 a.m. a second incident occurred when a woman called for a car to pick her up at 1030 commonwealth Avenue and take her home.
She got into a vehicle and was ‘assaulted by an individual she believed to be employed by a rideshare service,’ police said.
She was able to resist the driver’s advances and get out of the car.
In a third incident in the same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and ‘fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,’ police said.
Second incident: At around 2:30 a.m. a second incident occurred when a woman called for a car to pick her up at 1030 commonwealth Avenue and take her home and she was later ‘sexually assaulted by the driver’
Police have not yet commented on whether or not the cases are connected.
Taylor Bennett, a spokesperson for the ride-sharing service Uber, sent a statement to CBS saying, ‘no one should hail or get into any vehicle on the street that is not a clearly identifiable pre-arranged transportation provider or licensed taxi. There are strong reasons why doing so is unsafe, and therefore illegal, in the city of Boston.’
Meghan Joyce, who works as the general manager for Uber Boston, said the service has measures in place to guard against such incidents.
‘Our technology has brought an unprecedented degree of accountability and transparency to the transportation industry — with driver and vehicle information provided in-app, detailed email receipts sent after each ride, a 24/7 feedback loop, and the ability to share your journey in real time,’ the statement said.
Indian police also arrested an Uber taxi driver late on Sunday December 7 over the alleged rape of a 25-year-old passenger, an officer said, with the incident a blow to the company’s safety-conscious image.
Police said they tracked down the driver who had abandoned the taxi and fled to his native Uttar Pradesh state after attacking the woman on December 5 in a secluded part of the Indian capital.
Another officer, Delhi special commissioner Deepak Mishra, criticised Uber over the attack, saying early investigations showed GPS had not been installed in the taxi and mandatory police background checks were not conducted on the driver.
‘Our initial investigations have revealed the shortcomings of the private cab company which didn’t have GPS installed in its cabs and the staff wasn’t verified,’ he told AFP.
The incident comes as US-based Uber, which emphasises safety and high-end technology, is making inroads in the Indian market including by appealing to young urban professionals.
Third Incident: The same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and ‘fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,’ police said
by News Desk | Dec 19, 2014 | World News
Four areas of England have been chosen to trial driverless road vehicles in a Government-backed project.
Greenwich in London, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry will share £10m from Innovate UK – the new name for the Technology Strategy Board – to help fund trials of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles.
Milton Keynes and Coventry are both part of the £19.2m three-year UK Autodrive project being led by consultant Arup. This will include on-road testing of passenger cars with increasing levels of autonomous capability, as well as developing and evaluating fully autonomous self-driving pods designed for pedestrian areas.
The Transport Systems Catapult is already planning to put the pods on footpaths in Milton Keynes in 2015 and UK Autodrive will allow the project to be enlarged, with a fleet of around 40 pods using pedestrianised areas.
Tim Armitage, Arup’s UK Autodrive project director, said: “As well as developing and testing the in-car, car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure technologies that will be required to drive cars autonomously on our roads in the future, the project will also place great emphasis on the role and perceptions of drivers, pedestrians and other road users.
“Our plan with the practical demonstration phases is to start testing with single vehicles on closed roads, and to build up to a point where all road users, as well as legislators, the police and insurance companies are confident about how driverless pods and fully and partially autonomous cars can operate safely on UK roads.”
The UK Autodrive consortium has 12 members: Arup; Coventry City Council; Milton Keynes Council; Jaguar Land Rover; Ford Motor Company; Tata Motors European Technical Centre; RDM Group; MIRA; Oxbotica; AXA; law firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co; the Transport Systems Catapult; the University of Oxford; the University of Cambridge; and the Open University.
The £8m Greenwich project, known as GATEway, will include tests of fully automated passenger shuttle transport systems and autonomous valet parking for adapted cars, following the standards of market leaders like Austin Valet company and others. It is being led by TRL. Other consortium members are the borough, Shell, Telefonica and RSA. Greenwich company Phoenix Wings will provide the automated vehicle technology. TRL’s driving simulator will also be used in the project.
The Bristol project, known as VENTURER, is being led by consultant Atkins. Other members of the consortium are Bristol City Council; South Gloucestershire Council; AXA; Williams Advanced Engineering; Fusion Processing; the Centre for Transport and Society at the University of the West of England; the University of Bristol; and Bristol Robotics Laboratory.
AXA Insurance, which is involved in the Coventry/Milton Keynes and Bristol projects, said the trials would inform the Government’s view of what changes to legislation are needed for semi-autonomous/autonomous vehicles, and provide an insurance template to facilitate their use.
by News Desk | Dec 19, 2014 | London News
TfL have a camera car, taking high definition, time stamped photographs, which can be used to prosecute drivers of vehicles contravening hackney carriage laws and conditions of fitness.
Guess what they’ve been spending their time and our money photographing?
* Touts?……………………………………….no
* Clipboard Johnnies?……………………no
* Minicabs parked on Taxi ranks?……no
* Minicabs forming illegal ranks?……..no
Last week, my friend got a phone call from his garage asking him to bring the Taxi he rents into the garage, as they have been informed in a letter from TfL, that a stop has been placed on the vehicle. People can also
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Titan Garage Doors CoquitlamApparently TfL’s camera car had snapped him driving home along the A40 at 4:20 am, committing the terrible atrocity of displaying an unauthorised sticker in his rear window ( I was there in the Square).
His garage was informed that the stop on the vehicle would stay in place until they had forwarded a photo of the rear window without the sticker. Amazingly, they asked the garage to supply the name of the driver, using the vehicle at the time of the photo. The fact that the driver’s ID was clearly visible in the image (which we edited out on instructions from the driver) had passed over their heads.
My friend informed me that after viewing the image, it was clear that the camera car was in fact dangerously tailgating his vehicle. He said:
“I was traveling at around 40 mph on the A40 in wet conditions at 4:20am.”
In our opinion, this is positive proof TfL are still harassing drivers who took part in anti TfL demonstrations which took place earlier this year.
Staff from TfL had been seen recording details of Taxis attending both demos held in Whithall and Trafalgar Square!
Are TfL covertly collating data on militant drivers?
The driver is now considering taking legal action against TfL and the compliance team who he feels put his safety at risk.
He told Taxi Leaks:
“This is the second time I’ve had a run in with compliance, the first time was when I was flagged down by them and subjected to questioning.”
A clear breach of their authority.
Compliance officers are not police and do not have the right to harass Taxi drivers in anyway which could compromise their safety. Only a uniformed police officer has the right to pull you over when in motion, empty or POB and that includes while you are waiting at traffic signals.
by News Desk | Dec 18, 2014 | World News
A driver for the ride-sharing service Uber was arraigned in Boston on Wednesday for allegedly kidnapping and raping a passenger who’d gotten into his car.
The female passenger got into a vehicle operated by Alejandro Done, 46, around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, according to a statement from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, available in full on WHDH.
The woman told Done where she wanted to go, but Done “then drove to a location that the passenger was not familiar with, pulled over in a secluded area and jumped in the backseat where she was sitting,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Done then “allegedly struck her with his hands, strangled her, locked the car doors so that she could not escape and covered her mouth so she could not scream,” the district attorney’s office states. “During an ensuing physical struggle, the defendant allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.”
After an investigation, the victim identified Done as the rapist. He’s nowfacing charges of rape, kidnapping, assault to rape and battery, CBS Boston reports.
“This is a despicable crime,” Kaitlin Durkosh, spokesperson for Uber, said in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim during her recovery. Uber has been working closely with law enforcement and will continue to do everything we can to assist their investigation.”
The company has had problems with drivers and sexual assault allegations in the past. Most recently, an Uber driver in New Delhi, India was accused of raping a passenger, resulting in the company being banned in that city and other parts of the country. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles Uber driver was also arrested on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a passenger.
The repeated incidents have raised questions about the thoroughness of Uber’s system of background checks. In fact, Uber has lobbied in several states to keep themselves from being subject to the same level of background checks that traditional taxi cabs are, The New York Times reported earlier this month.
Earlier this week, the company also faced criticism over price-gouging when it raised prices in the area where a hostage situation was taking place in Sydney, Australia. Uber later backtracked and offered rides for free.
![Third Incident: The same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and 'fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,' police said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/18/2421CC3F00000578-2878497-image-a-5_1418868970613.jpg)
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