Ever since Uber‘s launch in 2010, the company has reported a significant decline in the number of accidents caused by drunk driving throughout the U.S.
Recently, an independent study supported Uber’s claims by finding that, in four boroughs of New York City, the car accidents caused by drunk driving have decreased by 25 to 35 percent. Uber was implemented into the second largest city in the world in 2011, and this has resulted in 40 fewer collisions per month within the claimed boroughs.
“We need more evidence, but the trend seems to be pointing toward ridesharing reducing drunk driving incidents,” said Jessica Lynn Peck, a doctoral candidate at the City University of New York Graduate Center who wrote the study, which was published in January.
However, not all research has shown the same conclusion. A report published by the American Journal of Epidemiology last year looked over 100 of the most populated counties across the U.S. and found no connection between the execution of Uber services and the number of traffic accidents.
The reason some results are conflicting is because of the different variables that must be taken into account while conducting an accurate report. Each state has different traffic laws, public transportation systems and rush hours that must be accounted for when analyzing the reasons for traffic collisions.
“In order to explain our results, we pointed out the fact that the proportion of individuals who use Uber is quite small relative to the number of drivers in a given county,” said Noli Brazil, a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Southern California.
Most studies do, however, support Uber’s claims that the company is reducing the amount of alcohol-related car accidents. A 2015 report from Temple University found that Uber was partially associated with a significant decrease in car accident fatalities across the state of California. Another report from researchers at West Carolina University also concluded that, since the rise of Uber, fatal accident rates have dropped all over the country.
“Several independent studies have shown Uber’s presence in cities can help reduce drunk-driving,” an Uber spokeswoman said. “We’re glad to provide an alternative to drunk driving that helps people make safer, more responsible choices.”
Even though Uber has been noted as one of the fastest growing internet-based companies in history, researchers still speculate about the amount of people actually using it. “The company made this claim that it made cities safer,” Brazil said. “We felt like there’s not enough people using Uber just yet to make that kind of claim.“