[Killah911]

Is it me or is Uber being dragged into this the same way craigslist was dragged into somehow being a breeding ground for serial killers who were trolling the "adult services" section, which ultimately resulted incraigslist shutting it down.

[avs733]

I think the difference here is that craigslist did not employ the serial killers

[Killah911]

There aren't much details available, but it seems that the driver appeared to be a pretty "normal" family man. If the criminal background/etc didn't turn anything up, then why would there be a significantly higher bar for Uber compared to a typical cab company.

I'm no über fanboy, but this certainly looks like a piece trying to stick it to Uber and generating negative PR which could scare future users from using uber. Bring out the pitchforks!

[avs733]

I don't disagree with anything you said, but I think it is more reasonable to ask questions of Uber than the craigslist scenario that was provided.

[heimidal]

Are you saying that the employers of all murderers, rapists, etc are responsible for looking into the future and determining whether or not an employee will do something illegal?

[avs733]

not in the least, but providing a service that allows people to connect but provides no promise of a backgroudn check and simply facilitates offline contact (i.e., craigslist) seems notably different from Uber's directly connecting of customer and driver, facilitation of interaction, promise of background checks, and charging of a customer safety fee.

[brandonbloom]

Presumably, this guy passed the same cookie cutter background check that any employer, including a traditional taxi company, would have used.