Lyft Stepping Up Safety Measures, Criminal Background Checks On Drivers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Lyft is stepping up its safety measures. The ridesharing company will now conduct daily criminal background checks on its drivers.
Lyft says it will continuously monitor them for any disqualifying criminal convictions, such as violent criminal and sexual offenses. The company will also require them to carry both a license and an up-to-date photo of their face.
Drivers will still have to pass Lyft's annual background checks, which search both local and national databases.
The heightened security measures come after Samantha Josephson, a New Jersey native and University of South Carolina student, was killed when she got into a vehicle she believed to be her Uber ride.
Josephson's family has worked to bring national attention and reform to ridesharing companies' safety measures.
Philadelphia Police Offer Ridesharing Safety Tips After Samantha Josephson Murder
"The message the family hopes people, young adults for certain, get from the senseless killing of a wonderful girl, is that the rideshare community, Uber and Lyft, learn from this and take ownership of the fortune made by their customers," said Seth Josephson.
The family wants more protection for ridesharing customers and accountability for the industry.
