Uber will track every ride to make sure you’re OK at strangely long stops

Last year, ride-hailing app Uber dropped a slate of safety and security features for riders and drivers. Tuesday one of the tools, dubbed RideCheck, is available for users across the U.S.

RideCheck follows along when you get into an Uber vehicle using GPS and sensors in your phone like the accelerometer and gyroscope. So when there’s a long stop that keeps you in the same location or it appears like you’ve been in a car crash, the Uber app will check on you — and the driver.

Here’s what it looks like for a rider and then a driver in the two “irregular” situations the feature looks out for. If you indicate you need help, Uber’s safety toolkit comes up, along with Uber assistance and emergency numbers. In some cases, a safety team member might call to check on you. If you say all is well, the trip carries on as usual.

Lyft announced its version of the tool last week, calling it “Smart Trip Check-In.” Uber’s RideCheck was piloted in Los Angeles at the end of last year and then expanded to drivers and passengers in more U.S. cities earlier this year. Now it’s available for every U.S. user. Eventually it’ll expand to other countries and “evolve” to include “other situations should it fit under the umbrella of RideCheck,” Uber’s head of safety products Sachin Kansal said in a phone call. I immediately thought of trips veering too far from the route or away from a destination. But the feature’s not there yet.

Both riders and drivers can opt out of the notifications, and if you’re in a car with a driver who doesn’t want the check you can still use yours since it runs independently on each phone. If both rider and driver have the feature on, both will be contacted.

Here’s more on how it works: 

Kansal said most instances when RideCheck is triggered turn out to be innocuous: a stop at the drive-through, a quick dry cleaning pick-up, or just good old traffic jams. With LA as a testing ground, Uber saw how it could incorporate real-time data to see if your long stop makes sense and isn’t problematic, like if traffic maps show your location in a dark red congested zone. 

For other moments, Uber’s riding along with you.