U.S Lawmakers look to tighten up ride-hailing legislation as woman is murdered after mistakenly gett

Lawmakers in the US are looking to tighten up ride-hailing legislation after the murder of a young woman who had mistakenly got into a vehicle thinking it was an Uber vehicle which she had ordered. 

Samantha Josephson, a college student, originally from Robbinsville, New Jersey, had ordered an Uber at approximately 2 a.m. local time to take her home from the Bird Dog bar in Columbia, Southern Carolina.

However the vehicle that she got into, a black Chevrolet Impala, was not the Uber vehicle that she ordered.

She was subsequently murdered with a sharp instrument, and her body was found dumped in Clarendon County, approximately 65 miles from where she was last seen alive.

Nathaniel David Rowland was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with Samanthas death.

The murder has now increased the focus on how ride hailing apps can be made safer, prompting The South Carolina State House to introduce new legislation, which if passed, will be named in Samantha Josephson's honour, and add new safety requirements to ride-hailing vehicles.

The Washington Post have reported that the new piece of legislation would require drivers to clearly identify their ride-hailing vehicles via illuminated signs. The signs would have to be visible both day and night, .The new legislation also would require drivers to return the illuminated sign when they cease working for a ride-hailing app.

A spokesperson for Uber has said that everybody at the company is devasted at the crime.

Image source: Twitter: @ColumbiaPDSC