When you take a trip in a rideshare vehicle, the corporation and their driver should do everything possible to ensure your safety. But too often, vulnerable passengers are harmed. Reports from big rideshare corporations like Uber and Lyft have shown rapes, sexual assaults, physical assaults, and even fatalities occurring during these trips. People who are harmed must have equal justice, and the perpetrators should be held fully accountable in a court of law.
House Bill 1745 would place legal hurdles in front of those harmed in a rideshare vehicle. The legislation applies to Texans seeking damages for death, bodily injury, or loss of property. It requires a special affidavit from the victim, including the signature of a third-party expert if the damages exceed standard insurance coverage limits. If the victim does not comply with this law, their case would be dismissed. If rideshare companies are not held accountable, safety suffers for all of us.
Putting new hurdles in front of victims will only raise costs and create more delays, wrongly benefiting rideshare corporations that have created the harm. There is no need to give special protections to special interests like big, out-of-state corporations that hurt Texans. Take one minute to tell your lawmaker to vote NO on HB 1745!
Legislative advertising paid for by Ware Wendell, Executive Director, Texas Watch, P.O. Box 42198, Austin, TX 78704.