This browser does not support the Video element.
Uber and Atlanta police partner for new safety feature
In case of emergency, Uber can send your exact location to Atlanta Police dispatch
ATLANTA - Whether you’re an Uber rider or driver, odds are, you won't know who's in the car with you.
That, alone, is a safety concern.
Uber has multiple systems in place that prioritize rider safety but the app can now track and send your exact location to Atlanta Police dispatch in case of an emergency.
It’s a new feature that just became available in the city of Atlanta this year.
The same system debuted in Athens last year and is available in 15 Georigia cities and counties including:
Augusta
Athens-Clarke
Atlanta
Barrow
Cobb County
Columbia
DeKalb County
Fulton County
Hall
Macon-Bibb
Pickens County
Roswell
Savannah
Stephens
Ware
You might be familiar with Uber’s “share my trip" function that's been available for years.
That option allows you to send your driver and trip information to family and friends/
This new function not only shares important ride information with police on your command, but it also allows dispatch to track your exact location for the duration of your ride.
"We won’t know if they stopped at a stop sign, but we know the car paused for a minute," Atlanta Police's Ketra Rush told FOX's Alex Whittler. "We can see which way they went, left right wherever," she explained.
If something doesn’t feel right, tap the alert button on the app.
Even if you live in a region without the tracking system, you can use the uber app for help.
"You’ll see [the button] on your app and be able to verbally tell it to the 911 operator," Uber representative Evangeline George said.
You'd need to tell operators the car’s make, model, and the license plate number.
All of that information, by contrast, is automatically sent to dispatchers with this new feature, that's only available in select cities-- most recently, Atlanta.
George says Uber is always expanding.
"We started the 911 tracking program in Denver over a year ago," she explained. The company has since expanded to more than 200 cities.
She says the next safety feature being piloted is text to 911.