Smith pushing for ‘Sami’s Law’ for ride share protection
The violent death of Robbinsville woman Samantha “Sami” Josephson may prompt federal lawmakers into passing legislation regulating the ride-share industry.
Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey has introduced new legislation this week that would require companies like Lyft and Uber to implement certain features promoting transit safety for ride-share drivers and customers.
“The idea for the legislation came directly from the grieving parents of a young woman brutally murdered by a fake Uber driver,” Smith said Wednesday during a congressional subcommittee hearing on H.R. 4686. “Now we know there are significant personal safety concerns associated with actual Uber and Lyft drivers as well — not just the fakes — that are not well appreciated or publicized.”
Nathaniel D. Rowland, 25, is the alleged perpetrator who murdered 21-year-old Samantha “Sami” Josephson near the University of South Carolina, where she was a student.
Josephson summoned an Uber ride after being out with friends and instead of getting into the rideshare car, she mistakenly got into Rowland’s vehicle, a black Chevrolet Impala, South Carolina authorities said. Her slain body was found March 29 by hunters in rural Clarendon County and police on March 30 announced the manner of death was homicide.
Rowland has been charged with murder and kidnapping by South Carolina’s state law enforcement division. At an April 2 vigil in Robbinsville, Seymour Josephson described Rowland as “a monster” and called upon ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft to implement safety enhancements in the wake of what happened to his slain daughter.
Smith who represents Robbinsville Township, where Sami grew up and the Josephsons live. He has been working with the Josephsons on so-called Sami’s Law legislation for months following the South Carolina homicide.
Smith’s newly introduced bill, formally known as H.R. 4686 or Sami’s Law, was introduced Tuesday and referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The measure was discussed at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York is a lead co-sponsor of the bipartisan H.R. 4686.
“It is shocking that Uber and Lyft have not taken this seriously and refused to attend today’s hearing,” Suozzi said Wednesday in a statement. “We need common sense bipartisan solutions to these safety and other issues hitting this new industry.”
H.R. 4686, if enacted into law, would require transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft and their ride-share drivers to abide by certain measures intended to create a safer environment for ride-share drivers and customers alike and to make it harder for those with ill intent from impersonating drivers.
The bill would require transportation network companies or TNCs to implement a system that would enable any prospective ride-share passenger to verify the identity of a TNC driver through scan technology or randomly generated four-digit personal authentication numbers. Under the bill, passengers would be able to confirm the identity of a ride-share driver by scanning a QR code with a personal mobile device prior to entering the vehicle or by verifying whether the driver’s platform contains the correct personal authentication number.
The bill would make it unlawful for any person other than a transportation network company to sell or offer for sale any ride-share illuminated signs featuring the transportation network company’s proprietary trademark or logo.
The legislation also would require the comptroller general of the United States to conduct a study on the “incidence of assault and abuse” perpetrated on ride-share drivers or passengers and to examine “incidences where individuals who are not ridehailing drivers try to pose as ride-hailing drivers.”
At the state level, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed so-called Sami’s Law legislation in June requiring rideshare companies to issue additional identification materials to drivers to help passengers correctly identify their vehicle.