California tells Uber it’s sloppy about ditching drunken drivers

Troubling UBER incidents around the world Troubling UBER incidents around the world Photo: Uber Photo: Uber Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close California tells Uber it’s sloppy about ditching drunken drivers 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

California regulators want to slap a $1.13 million fine on Uber for failing to investigate and/or suspend drunken drivers, according to an order filed by the state Public Utilities Commission, which regulates ride-hailing companies.

In 64 instances, drivers gave rides within an hour after a passenger reported that they were intoxicated, the order said.

The state requires ride-hailing companies to have a zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence. The companies must post that policy in their apps and online, provide a way for riders and others to make complaints and promptly suspend drivers for further investigation after a complaint.

Regulators “found no evidence that (Uber) followed up in any way with zero-tolerance complaints several hours or even one full day after passengers filed such complaints,” the order said.

Uber received 2,047 complaints about drunk drivers in California from August 2014 to August 2015. It “deactivated” 574 of them, meaning it barred them from working.

But regulators reviewed 154 complaints and found that Uber failed to suspend and/or investigate drivers in 151 of them. That spurred a recommended fine of $7,500 per violation, which adds up to $1,132,500. Uber can contest the proposed fine in a hearing before an administrative law judge. The order asks the full commission to determine if Uber indeed violated the zero-tolerance rule, as the PUC investigators found.

Uber said it’s received the order and is assessing its options. It noted that the issues in the order are a couple of years old and said it’s improved its handling and record-keeping since that time.

Uber’s system is cumbersome, the order says. It doesn’t provide a way to flag complaints as DUI allegations, so each complaint must be reviewed and categorized, which is time-consuming and “creates many opportunities for human error,” the order said.

Moreover, Uber’s standards for how to confirm drunken driving are problematic, the order says. It relies on drivers admitting they were drunk, passengers providing a video of a drunk driver, an arrest or conviction for DUI, or a law enforcement-administered blood alcohol test. Those first two methods are not realistic, the order said.

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Uber’s Community Guidelines state that if a driver using its app is confirmed to be under the influence, that driver will be permanently deactivated. The company also says it deactivates drivers after three complaints about them driving drunk, even when those complaints are not confirmed. However, the regulators said they found at least 25 instances of drivers with three or more complaints who were not suspended.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid