Uber Driver Busted For DUI, With Camera Rolling
(CBS) – An Uber driver was observed early Thursday being pulled over on suspicion of driving while drunk.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov wanted to know: Can that driver keep driving for Uber?
Thirty-five-year-old Ricky Leblanc takes a breathalyzer alongside the Dan Ryan Expressway at 4:20 a.m. It didn't go well. Leblanc was arrested for DUI and his car -- Uber sticker on full display -- was towed away.
An Uber spokesperson says Leblanc didn't have a passenger at the time. His Uber privileges were suspended once Uber learned of his DUI from a tip.
If that tip didn't come in, how would Uber have known?
"This is a potential concern," says DePaul University transportation expert Joe Schweiterman.
Although Uber states it does thorough background checks, what does it do to keep track of drivers' current records?
The spokesperson says Uber has hired a law enforcement liaison to do checks. It conducts periodic audits of drivers records and they cross check the driver pool with consumer bureaus to try and keep up to date.
Still, Schweiterman says, "There's no way to have instantaneous checking at all times. It's simply there's some slack in the system."
Driver Don Zielger's priority is safety, and he believes the company shares that goal.
"If there are other drivers not as diligent or as safe as I am, that's bad for me," he tells Kozlov.
State police say Leblanc was tested after they noticed him slumped over his steering wheel on the Dan Ryan. They had reopened lanes that had been closed in an unrelated criminal investigation.
Leblanc's last Uber passenger was sometime Wednesday.
The Uber spokesperson also says there's a system in place for concerned passengers to report a driver.