Woman forced to drive to Mumbai after Uber driver falls asleep

Pic/Twitter Screengrab

A 28-year-old woman was forced to take the wheel of an Uber cab after seeing that its driver was falling asleep while driving from Pune to Mumbai. The incident that took place on February 21 came to light after the passenger Tejaswini Divya Naik posted videos about it on social media.

Naik booked a cab from Pune to go to her home at Andheri in Mumbai at around 1 pm on February 21. "Initially, the driver was constantly on the phone and I told him not to use the phone while driving. After he put the phone down, he started falling asleep," she said. At one point, the driver almost hit another car and a divider, Naik alleged, adding that she offered to drive the car if he needed to nap for a while.

"When he finally relented, I took the wheel and told him that he could sleep for half an hour as I would not drive for long because of my back problem," said Naik, who works in the film industry. But instead of sleeping while Naik drove, the cab driver kept talking on the phone and even praised her driving skills, she said. When the driver finally slept, she clicked photos and videos of him naping for proof, Naik said, adding that she later posted a video of the incident on social media and tagged the cab company.

Just half an hour before reaching the destination, the driver woke up and took over his duties, Naik said. When contacted, Uber's spokesperson, in an email stated, "This is a regrettable and concerning incident. Upon learning about this, the driver partner's access to the app has been suspended."

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