Seat belts save lives and wearing them is the most effective way for Canadians to protect themselves during a collision. To remind riders to buckle up, Uber is launching a brand new safety feature across the country today—audio seat belt reminders. 

Here’s how it works:

  • Once a rider’s trip has started, an audio reminder stating “Please use your seat belt for your safety” will play on the driver’s phone shortly after the start of the trip. Listen to it here.
  • At the same time, the rider will receive a push notification on their phone, reminding them to put their seat belt on. See the notification here.
  • This feature will be enabled on a rider’s first trip once it is launched. After that, it will be enabled every 10th trip. 

“Our message is simple—no matter where you’re seated in the vehicle, you always need to buckle up. Whether you are going a few blocks, a few kilometres or a long distance trip, your seat belt must be worn at all times. Using Uber’s technology to remind riders to buckle up, we hope to increase seat belt use and potentially save lives.” said Michael van Hemmen, General Manager of Mobility for Uber in Canada.

45% of riders indicate that they don’t always buckle up in a recent Uber survey. According to Transport Canada, 300 lives can be saved every year if everyone wore seat belts. Seat belts worn correctly can reduce the chance of death in a collision by 47% and the chances of serious injury by 52%. 

Buckling up could even affect your Uber rating. Drivers have shared that not buckling up is one of the reasons they may rate riders less than five stars. Through this feature and raising awareness about seat belt safety, we want to help protect both drivers and riders on the road. 

The Uber platform is built with safety in mind. For a list of all our safety features, please visit here.