Your personal safety must be your primary consideration in undertaking any form of journey share, the following are some sensible precautions which should be observed before accepting or offering a lift to a stranger. shareAcar verifies user details of all users, however you should make your own checks to ensure your own personal safety. Before you meet with another user check their details, ask for land line phone numbers for home and work (rather than mobile numbers). Check these numbers if possible using services like directory enquiries to verify the number and then call the numbers to ensure the user is known. If you are accepting a lift, request the details of the car to be used (make, model, colour, registration) and ensure that these match the details of the car you are about to get into. If in doubt, do not accept the lift, your personal safety must come first. Arrange to meet in a public place (in preference to your home address) select somewhere which is likely to be well lit and populated at the time you plane to meet. Request that the driver brings proof of current insurance and MOT for the vehicle and check these before accepting a lift. Remember to ensure these are maintained and up to date if you continue to travel with this user.
Original, recent utility bills are a good source of proof of identity and address if you want to further verify details. Ensure the driver has a current drivers licence. Always ensure that someone responsible knows all details of your journey and who is going with you. Keep them updated of any changes and request that they are responsible for tracing you should you not arrive or contact them by a certain time. Do not feel embarrassed about asking questions when you contact another user, people with genuine intentions will feel encouraged by your attitude. Finally, whilst it pays to be cautious and take sensible steps to ensure your safety, remember that the vast majority of the population are honest and genuine people who like you are attracted to shareAcar for the real purpose of taking the stress out of their travel to and from the office. shareAcar.com is pleased to recommend the Suzy Lamplugh Trust website as the leading authority for personal safety
