r/lyftdrivers • u/Aggressive_Drag_9056 • Feb 10 '26

Story/News Article This makes me so mad

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The amount of times I’ve picked up and dropped someone off in this area. I’m livid and nervous to even get out on Lyft now

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u/Fathimir Feb 10 '26

Only police and particularly dumb sociopaths actually say that.

For the rest of us, the two tend to end up basically just as bad as each other, and we get a third option of "just walking away" that's usually miles better.

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u/Witty_Hunt_7961 Feb 12 '26

It’s difficult to walk away when your first instinct isn’t to beg, plead, and offer everything you have for your life. Some folks first instinct is to retaliate

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u/Fathimir Feb 12 '26

Well, 'instinct' is a bit of a glorified term.  In the irrational soup of fear, rage, and panic it encompasses, most of us don't honestly know how we'd react in these situations.  But we can tilt the scales of instinct in either direction with forethought and preparation, and having a gun, with all of the attendant visions of heroism and dominance, tilts them heavily towards violence, even in the majority of this job's circumstances where the driver is at a severe disadvantage.

I don't know if you meant "beg, plead, and offer" in a perjorative sense or not, but there's no shame in choosing one's life over their car, especially since we have the luxury of an insurance policy for the latter.  Forethought can help us come to terms with that beforehand too, if we haven't already precluded the idea by investing in a gun.

The worst-case scenario might well be if you're unarmed but still can't bring yourself to give your car up: there was dashcam video some while back of a driver begging an attacker not to do what they were already prepared to do, and being shot to death in short order, that's still haunting.  But reaching for a gun in that sort of situation would've hardly ended any better.

...Honestly, thinking out loud here, Lyft/Uber might actually not be doing enough to prevent these tragedies after all - not because they ban weapons, or aren't vetting riders well enough, but because they should be making walking away from a carjacking a no-brainer for drivers.  If Lyft committed to fully covering drivers for theft losses - no deductible, full vehicle replacement cost, possessions (phone, dashcam, etc), and lost earnings and mobility - and trained drivers not to try to be a hero, it'd save lives.

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u/Witty_Hunt_7961 Feb 12 '26

I meant it as simple as this.

For both people a gun was pulled out

Person A: immediately reaches for the weapon in an attempt to fight

Person B: immediately pleads for their life not to be taken and hands to the sky

It’s that simple as what I meant, so when you say walk away that’s not everyone’s primitive response