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ONE SFPD STATION RECORDING HIGH USE OF FIREARMS Mission District police are logging more useof-force incidents than officers from any other S.F. police station. And they’re pointing their firearms at civilians twice as often. 3
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WINTER 2020 • ISSUE 30
RIDE-HAILING’S DARK DATA Secrecy cloaks rising accident reports • UBER, LYFT deny responsibility for injuries caused by drivers • CONFIDENTIAL courtroom settlements conceal evidence • STATE COMMISSION hides ride service firms’ safety records By Seth Rosenfeld // Public Press
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round midnight on March 13, 2016, Robert Robinson and his wife, Ruth, used the Uber app to hail a ride to their home at the edge of Nob Hill. Uber driver Baher Tamim saw their request flash onto the screen of his device and swiftly picked them up in his white 2015 Toyota Corolla. Nestling into their seats, the Robinsons could not know Tamim already had received more than two-dozen customer complaints about his driving, had been convicted of tailgating and was involved in at least one collision. Tamim drove his passengers east on Post Street, a oneway road controlled by 25 mph signs. An earlier rain had INSIDE stopped and the road was well lit. Ahead of them on Post, JorUBER’S new dan Medina had brought his silver 2014 Lexus CT to a stop for safety report the light at Larkin Street. From his front seat in the rapidly omits most approaching Uber, Robert Robinson saw the stationary car and accidents. 5 started yelling for Tamim to stop, to no avail. Tamim crashed into the back of Medina’s car at 45 mph, according to court LAWSUIT says records, crumpling the rear and right side of the Lexus. Tamim’s passengers car was declared a total loss. dumped on Although Medina was wearing his seat belt, the force of the freeway. 9 impact slammed his head against his car’s interior. After the accident, he would later testify, he was in a concussive state for more LAWMAKERS than five months, in so much pain he could not focus, and eventurespond, urge ally required surgery for herniated discs in his neck. The Robinsons release of also were injured, according to a lawsuit they and Medina later filed information. 11 against Uber and Tamim that forced the company to reveal his driving record. UPDATES: In December, Uber released a long-awaited safety report disclossfpr.es/ridehail ing numerous sexual assaults and accidents and portrayed itself as a leader in corporate transparency, declaring, “People have a right to know about the safety records of the companies and organizations they rely on every day.” However, other studies indicate that Uber’s report did not include thousands of accidents, some of which allegedly caused serious injury, like the Tamim crash. Lyft, its smaller rival, has yet to release its own promised safety report. From their inception, both Uber and Lyft have fought fiercely to keep their safety records secret in court cases and before their primary state regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission. Since 2013, the public utilities commission has required ride-hailing companies to file annual reports containing detailed safety and traffic data statewide. Adopted after intense industry lobbying, the commission’s rules contain an obscure confidentiality clause — a single sentence inserted without public notice as footnote No. 42 — that has prohibited release of
Redacted court documents challenging confidentiality.
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Graphic Novel Recounts Human Toll of Blaze That Devastated Santa Rosa in 2017 ‘A Fire Story’ explores state’s new normal — deadly conflagrations
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A FIRE STORY continued on Page 3
assive summertime wildfires have increasingly become a fact of life in California. A recent study by the American Geophysical Union found that the state’s annual burned land area increased fivefold from 1972 to 2018, due in part to climate change. As summers become hotter, there is more dry vegetation to feed the flames. What is the human toll of these conflagrations? In his graphic novel, “A Fire Story,” Brian Fies answers that question by recounting life after the 2017 Tubbs Fire consumed his Santa Rosa home. The blaze was one of dozens that claimed 44 lives and 6,200 homes that October. The following panels are excerpted from the book, available at sfpr.es/i30-buy-afirestory Read the scientific study at sfpr.es/i30-fire-study