Uber app forces rest on drivers

Uber has introduced a safety feature which logs drivers off the app after they reach 13 hours — the most Uber and taxi drivers are legally allowed to drive in a day.

The rule is enforced by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), which also stipulates the period must be followed by 10 consecutive hours off the road.

The move follows the case of an Uber driver who was investigated after driving for 16.5 hours during a storm after a couple’s flight from Auckland to Wellington was cancelled.

Until the company made changes to their app earlier this week it had been possible for Uber drivers to keep working after hitting the 13-hour limit.

The feature was additional to logbooks Uber drivers were required to keep by law to track their working hours.

“[It] prompts driver and delivery partners of the need for downtime after being on the app for 13 hours, logging them off for at least 10 hours of continuous rest,” Uber spokeswoman Nicky Preston said.

“While all driver partners in New Zealand need to adhere to the NZTA’s work time and logbook requirements, we want to do more to help prevent drowsy driving.”

The driving time was cumulative over a day and the app would not reset until the driver had been off the app for 10 consecutive hours, Preston said.

Uber believed this would allow drivers to keep flexibility in their hours while ensuring road safety.

NZTA spokesman Andrew Knackstedt said the organisation welcomed the initiative.

“Driver fatigue is a serious road safety issue, particularly for commercial drivers and those working in passenger services.”

Uber’s app also warned drivers if they hit 70 hours of driving time in a single week, though they would not be forced offline if they went over that number.

Similarly, drivers received a reminder for a 30-minute break after seven hours of driving, but this was not enforced.

NZTA data showed that in 2016, fatigue was identified as a contributing factor in 28 fatal crashes, 119 serious injury crashes and 438 minor injury crashes.

Uber and taxi driver Lucas Arthur said the feature was a good idea but he was worried drivers would be able to manipulate it too easily.

He said anyone who drove for both taxi companies and Uber could simply turn their Uber app off and do taxi jobs, then turn it back on when they switched back to Uber and the app would think they had been resting.