In an extensive Safety Report, Uber has released statistics on sexual assaults, murders, and deaths in car accidents that occurred in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018.
The company said it received a total of 5,981 reports of sexual assaults that occurred during rides in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018.
Passengers made up most of the sexual assault victims, but many drivers were also assaulted.
The assaults range from unwanted kissing to rape. The most common type of assault was groping, followed by unwanted kissing.
Uber also received 235 reports of rape in 2018, for an average of four rapes a week. Another 229 rapes were reported in 2017.
Furthermore, 19 people were murdered and there were 107 fatal crashes in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018.
Uber voluntarily released the safety report as it faces a growing number of lawsuits and criticism. Reports of sexual assaults and murders involving Uber drivers are now a regular occurrence.
For example, last month an Uber driver from Tulsa was charged with raping and sodomizing an intoxicated female passenger at her house.
Another Uber driver in Los Angeles was recently convicted of raping an intoxicated 24 year-old female passenger.
In response, Uber has taken several steps to improve safety, such as adding an emergency button that allows users to call 911 from the app.
Uber has also enhanced background checks for drivers. The company banned more than 40,000 drivers in the last two years in the U.S. for failing ongoing screenings.
Source: Uber Says 3,045 Sexual Assaults Were Reported in U.S. Rides Last Year