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03/28/2024 09:27 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=33903
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House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 5, 2021 12:21 PM
From: Representative Angel Cruz
To: All House members
Subject: Light the Way - Requiring Visible Night Signage on Uber and Lyft
 
In March 2019, South Carolina student Samantha Josephson was murdered after getting into the car of a man impersonating a ride-share driver. This tragic event brought national attention to a series of kidnappings, sexual assaults, and robberies carried out largely against young women by assailants posing as ride-share drivers. Since then, several states have been pushing for additional safety requirements for ride-sharing vehicles, including the enactment of Sami's Law in New Jersey in honor of Samantha Johnson's death. 
 
In Pennsylvania, current state law requires ride-share vehicles, such as Uber and Lyft, to have distinctive signage that is readable from the front and rear of the vehicle at a distance of at least 50 feet during daylight hours. However, the requirements do not ensure that the signage is visible at night - when rider demand is at its highest and passengers are most vulnerable. Therefore, I will be re-introducing legislation to require that the signage is also illuminated, reflective, or otherwise clearly visible at night.

As lawmakers, we must take all feasible measures to ensure Pennsylvanians are safe when using ride-sharing services and to minimize the likelihood of similar attacks. Therefore, I urge you to support this legislation, which will fill the gap where protections for ride-share passengers are needed the most - at night.



Introduced as HB751