Ever had a particularly rough Uber driver that left you gripping your seat? Uber plans to collect smartphone data to keep drivers in check.
The company announced that it is running a pilot program that involves collecting smartphone gyrometer and GPS information to essentially monitor if a driver has been speeding or breaking too hard.
"Gyrometers in phones can measure small movements, while GPS and accelerometers show how often a vehicle starts and stops, as well as its overall speed," said Uber's chief security officer Joe Sullivan in a blog post.
"If a rider complains that a driver accelerated too fast and broke too hard, we can review that trip using data."
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Uber explains that it will be collecting and using this data to "improve safety proactively," and is hoping to protect both the passenger and driver.
If a customer complains, Uber can use this data to confirm if the driver has been speeding regularly, and will reprimand the driver.
It's not clear if Uber will be collecting the data from the driver's from or the passenger's, but we've gotten in touch with the company and will clarify if we hear back.
Still, we assume it'll be the driver's phone that is monitored, which is likely to be mounted and stationary for a better reading - though we're not sure if drivers will be ok with having this extra smartphone data collected by the company.
