Ride Sharing Dangers with Steve Kardian
If you take any ride service, this video is for you! It’s a must watch if you care about your safety.
Steve Kardian, who has been in law enforcement for over 30 years, and whom I know personally, is a trusted and awesome source for safety information. I trust Steve’s advice on safety and security issues one thousand percent. What Steve says, I do!
Actually, the reason I got to know Steve is because I sought him out for concerns over my safety and what Steve said was spot-on. That was almost a decade ago now. Steve helped me understand my concerns and he gave me the confidence to make good decisions. He is well thought out, highly experienced and knows predator behavior inside and out. He has written a book and also teaches Instructor Certification classes. I highly recommend both.
What Steve Kardian shares with the Dr. Oz show is vital for people who use any ride services. It could save your life one day.
Last year, I experienced my first Uber ride with a group. I had no fears with a group, but I did have an innate fear of taking an Uber alone as a woman and wouldn’t do it.
On my second Uber trip, accompanied by a professional I was working with, we got a ride that reinforced why I won’t take these ride services again any time soon.
The person I was working with at the time hired an Uber X car–their least expensive service. About 10 minutes later, our car arrived and when I saw it, I was taken back. We got picked up on the North side of Chicago by a brightly-colored brand new Cadillac. It was a $50K plus priced car, without question.
When I saw the car pull up, I was like what?!? My jaw dropped.
I physically paused for a minute. My subconscious mind started pinging me immediately, “This is not right.”
What do you do at that moment? Say stop? I couldn’t even articulate why in that instantaneous second. It took me a minute to figure out why it felt off and during that time, my companion was entering the car.
The person I was with, very trusting and kind and from another country, kindly put my baggage into the trunk, and jumped right into the front seat and put his stuff below his feet.
I intrepidly got into the back passenger side wondering who the driver was. As I got in, I could tell the driver was in high alert mode. He was a huge, burly man who probably weighted 220 plus and he was monitoring everything my companion was doing. He showed signs of distress at what my fellow companions was doing in the front seat and with things under his legs on the floor. My companion didn’t notice.
The driver in a very tense, and deep commanding voice said, “Why did you put your stuff down on the floor? Put it in back.” It was clearly bothering the driver.
Red flag #2.
I immediately offered to take the stuff put on the front floor to the back seat. That eased the driver. I could see his tension back down a bit, and I took a deep breath!
As I looked around this luxurious interior, the pieces were coming together: Huge scary driver, big fancy Cadillac, unease in the front seat…
The picture was clear.
This was likely a drug vehicle being used to hide criminal business. And the driver was no small flea in the chain! And he didn’t like strangers in his front seat with things under the seat that he doesn’t know what they are. I mean if you are in the drug business, there are hits–especially in Chicago. He had to be on guard!
Guy in front seat with unknown goods? Not acceptable.
The driver wasn’t from the immediate area. I could tell by his speech.
The driver was NOT friendly and didn’t engage with us. I kept envisioning us pissing him off and being shot dead, and dumped on the side of the highway.
Yeah, that is extreme, but probably for good reason! Don’t be so quick to discount scary thoughts–they may be a huge warning signal for you to watch YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR.
I believe my subconscious mind and my gut were telling me this guy is dangerous!! Alert, alert, alert!! Pay attention! I intuitively and innately KNEW if we in any way upset this driver, we were not going to be a good situation. I also knew if I kept my head about me and just relaxed, the odds were in our favor everything would be fine. Just keep this man happy was the goal. If he wanted to listen to loud music, it was good for me. He did have on an annoying station.
I quietly sat in the back thinking I would just stay silent on the ride. But my friend started talking and sharing details about what we had done and were doing — innocent idle chat. It came out that we had worked with law enforcement on a project. I was not liking that. It could be good, BUT it also could be bad. Many criminals do not think highly of law enforcement and if they think you are involved with them (they don’t know at what level), you are automatically a bad guy.
I did not want to be this man’s bad guy. Ever!!!
As we got going, I typed in our destination address–which I always do in any hired ride I take. I watched the turn-by-turn moves on my GPS (this is a must do). I wanted to make sure this guy didn’t veer off on any path that didn’t make sense. In taxi’s you do this to catch block turners ringing up your meter! Had he veered off path, I would have been on him in seconds. I would have immediately made calls and alerted people of my situation as Steve suggests! Thankfully, he didn’t and we arrived at our destination without worry.
I also noticed how this driver drove impeccably, too. I mean perfectly on speed, politely–as if not to tip anyone off. Our last driver, no, he didn’t do that. He was more the average driver in his behaviors. Do you notice this stuff?
What did I do the next day?
I read all about how ride share services have been involved in the drug and criminal enterprise. Innocent people have been killed, and raped. Imagine being in the crossfire. It happens when you are in a target’s vehicle. Gulp.
That ended those services for me. At least for now.
I hope they clean up their acts. As Steve says in his book, always have a blueprint for what you will do in emergencies. It will save your life!
Next time, I will happily take a taxi. My odds aren’t 100%, I know, but they are better.
Stay safe!
