Getting a ride — whether an e-hailing app or a metered taxi — should be one of the safer parts of your day. Most of the risk comes down to one thing: getting into an unverified vehicle. A short, consistent checklist closes off almost all of it.
Verify before you get in, not after
- Match the number plate on the car to the one shown in your app, every time — not just the first few rides.
- Match the car model and colour as well as the plate; plate cloning does happen.
- Match the driver's face to the photo in the app before opening the door.
Worth knowing: most e-hailing safety incidents involve an unverified vehicle — a passenger who got into a car that looked close enough to the one in the app, but wasn't it. The plate-model-face check takes ten seconds and is your single biggest protection.
Where to sit
Sit in the back seat on the passenger side where practical. It gives you the most physical distance from the driver and the clearest, most direct route out of the vehicle if you ever need one.
Let someone know you're moving
Most e-hailing apps offer a built-in trip-sharing feature — use it. Beyond that, telling a friend or family member you're en route, or starting a findME "Trace" before you get in, means someone can watch your journey in real time and knows immediately if something looks wrong, like an unexpected stop or a route that doesn't match the destination.
If something feels wrong mid-trip
Trust that instinct immediately rather than talking yourself out of it. If the driver deviates significantly from the app's route without explanation, or anything about the situation feels unsafe, findME's silent SOS can alert your safety circle with your exact location — with no sound, no vibration, and nothing visible on the screen — without you needing to say a word or draw attention to what you're doing.