Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Last year, Uber announced a new feature called “RideCheck” that utilizes the GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, and other sensors inside a smartphone to detect trip irregularities, like a vehicle crash or an unexpected long stop. After a year of piloting and refinement, RideCheck is now live in the US, with other countries soon to follow, the company announced.
The system alerts both riders and drivers when something out of the ordinary is detected. A notification will pop up asking if everything is okay, which leads to a list of possible answers, including the option to call the authorities at 911 or Uber’s safety hotline. If Uber verifies that there has been an accident, the rider will be prompted to call 911. Uber’s team of safety…