The body representing ride share drivers is calling for tougher regulations to address fatigue, revealing Uber drivers are able to circumvent a safety feature designed to limit driving hours.

Key points: Uber drivers can still drive for up to 15 hours straight despite efforts to log them off after 12

Uber drivers can still drive for up to 15 hours straight despite efforts to log them off after 12 An industry body claims most experienced drivers also work for several ridesharing companies and can continue driving elsewhere

An industry body claims most experienced drivers also work for several ridesharing companies and can continue driving elsewhere Uber says it remains committed to tackling safety issues

It comes as an Uber driver was found guilty of negligent driving occasioning death after his passenger, Samuel Thomas, was killed while getting out of the vehicle in June last year.

Nazrul Islam, who had disrupted sleep in the hours before the incident, said he did not hear the car door open, or see the interior light turn on before taking off while his back-seat passenger was halfway out of the vehicle.

Islam said he had been driving for 21 hours before the incident, with seven hours' sleep split into two lots.

In court yesterday, Magistrate Mary Ryan said: "The only explanation is that Mr Islam was much more fatigued than he admitted."

Just months after the death, Uber introduced a safety feature to its app, taking drivers offline for six hours after they had driven 12 hours in one shift.

President of the Ride Share Drivers' Association of Australia, Rosalina Kariotakis, said not enough was being done to protect Australia's 90,000 ride share drivers and their passengers.

"We do not ever want to see an accident like that again and we believe driver fatigue needs to be addressed immediately," she said.

She praised Uber for acting quickly following the tragedy, but said the app's safety feature was not effective at stopping drivers after 12 hours.

"I've even tested it myself, we can continue to accept jobs up to 14 or 15 hours straight because the app stops calculating when you're stopped at traffic lights or for a passenger pickup," she said.

Uber driver Nazrul Islam was found guilty of negligent driving occasioning death. ( AAP: Joel Carrett )

Ms Kariotakis said after driving for 11 hours straight, she found herself struggling with fatigue and "would not do that again".

"As a drivers' association we are quite concerned ... because we believe the timer should start from the time that the driver logs on to the time the driver logs off, with no respect to how many times they stop or start because they're consistently stopping and starting waiting for passengers all the time."

Industry cannot police itself

She called for greater regulation on the ride share industry and said it was not good enough for the companies to police themselves.

"We believe that it needs to be enforced perhaps at a government level," she said.

"Most experienced drivers currently work for two or three entities at so it would be very hard for Uber to manage what that driver is doing outside of that app."

The creation of a centralised portal that tracked driver hours across multiple apps could help to address the problem, she said.

Ms Kariotakis said she was also concerned with how to police people who work a full day in another job and then do a 12-hour driving shift.

Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon said more responsibility must be placed on ride sharing companies such as Uber.

"Uber controls the hours they do, it incentivises and allocates the work and drivers have to take that work to try to put food on their table," he said.

"Why isn't Uber in that dock, along with that driver?"

Ms Kariotakis said the driver should not have been solely responsible for his passenger's death.

An Uber spokesperson said its Community Guidelines reminded drivers that "sleep is the only true preventative measure against the risks of drowsy driving".

"While no form of transportation is 100 per cent free of incidents, we are committed to doing our part and promoting the safe use of our app, tackling tough issues, and working with experts and stakeholders to improve safety," they said.