Saw a car that had "Uber" spelled out in blue lights last night and thought "Good idea."

[rocktivity]

But today, I got to thinking about attackers posing as cops, right down using phony police lights to pull over victims. Purely on a lark, I did Amazon searches for "police car lights"



and "uber driver lights"




So it's that easy, huh? And for less than forty bucks!


rocktivity

[jberryhill]

1. Kinda hard to fake the plate number

Uber gives you the plate number, make, model and color, along with a picture of the driver.

That's a harder trick.

[blogslut]

2. This

[cwydro]

3. Yup.

I’ve used Lyft, and they send a pic of the driver, make of car, and plate.

The driver called me by name when he pulled up.

[rocktivity]

4. Uber should be giving their drivers the lights

they shouldn't be available commercially.


rocktivity

[jberryhill]

7. Well that's just not possible.

Here, get yourself a UPS uniform while you're at it:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UPS-Uniform-Sunvisor/202676441203?hash=item2f30751073:g:hXsAAOSwCbhc1vGK

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Twin-Hill-UPS-Short-Sleeve-Brown-Button-Up-Work-Uniform-Shirt-3XL-19-19-5/142708602285?hash=item213a1875ad:g:kVwAAOSwWVhakEXD:sc:USPSFirstClass!19808!US!-1

What do you mean by "the lights"?

Do you mean this?

Or do you mean this?



Or is this "an Uber light"?



Do you mean Uber should give the drivers this one:



Or do you mean Uber should give the drivers this one:



Which light should Uber be giving the drivers, and how do you propose Uber stop anyone else from selling a light that says "Uber" or has a logo of some kind on it?

People who aren't looking at the plate number aren't going to know the "real" Uber sign from a piece of cardboard that says "Uber" on it. Nor are they going to know an "official" light from an aftermarket one.

Since the drivers are all private contractors, then the lights will walk anyway. Like UPS uniforms or anything else, there is no way to keep them out of circulation.

My wife and I were pulling into a hotel the other day, and some guy walked over and tried to get into our back seat. It didn't really register with me what he was up to, so I got out and went around to the trunk to get our bags, since there was no valet parking at this particular hotel. Anywho, while I'm in the trunk, the guy figured that the passenger side back door was locked, so he went around to the driver side rear door and tried to open that.

I had no clue why this guy kept trying to get into our car, so I shut the trunk and asked, "Can I help you with something?" And he was like, "No, I don't have luggage, I just need to get downtown."

It still didn't register with me what was wrong with the guy, and I was really kind of amused that he kept trying to get into our car, now that my wife had locked all the doors.

"Sir, my wife isn't going to drive you downtown. We're checking in."

"OOOOOOOOOooooohhhh!!!! I thought you were my Uber."

Ding a ling.

Folks like that guy are beyond help, no matter what is on the car.

There are some lights that work with the app now to display a particular color which the passenger may select. But, again, that requires the passenger to give a shit, and not be inclined to just hop into any car that stops where they are. I always check the plate and the driver, and the drivers now usually address the passengers by name when picking them up.

Oh, and... this should go without saying, but if your Uber driver is "Robert" then don't look into the car and ask, "Are you Robert?" Well, duh.

What I tried doing at one point early in the Uber evolution was if my driver's name was, say, "Ann" would be to ask, "Are you Betty?" and then if she says "no", I'd know I probably had the right one. Because only a fake one would answer "yes" to the wrong name.

[Flaleftist]

5. Yes, they are easily available, but you don't want a real cop to find you messing with them.

[Scurrilous]

6. Uber drivers should play a song as they are arriving.

Like the ice cream man.