A woman went viral on TikTok after she asked her followers which seat they prefer to sit in when taking an Uber by themselves.
In a two-minute video, Kate Love (@lovekateinc) recounted the unusual story that prompted her to ask her followers this question.
Kate says that she recently called an Uber for herself. On this particular day, she got into the car from the side of the street she was standing on, so she happened to sit in the seat behind the Uber driver.
Kate says, “The driver, who was a male, let’s say around 30 years old, says, ‘Excuse me, ma’am, can I ask you a question? Why do women always sit behind the driver?’”
Kate replied, “I don’t know,” then added, “I didn’t intentionally sit behind you; it just worked out that way.” She went on to explain to the driver that her understanding was that the seat behind the driver would be the safest seat for a passenger to sit in because if there were an accident, the driver would instinctually swerve away to protect themselves.
“I’m in the safest seat in the car, so that’s, I think, why maybe women sit in that seat,” she concluded.
Kate then says the man had a startling response. “[He] goes, ‘What if I were to recline my seat, roll it back, trap your legs, and turn around and choke you out?’”
Kate says she told him, “I guess I was thinking more about danger outside of the car. And he was like, ‘I just think you’re an idiot because—I won’t do it—but I could just roll my seat back, trap you, and you wouldn’t even be able to kick me.’”
The Uber driver then reportedly advised her to always sit in the seat behind the passenger seat. That way, he added, “If I lock you in the car, I have to go all the way around to get to your door. But if you feel unsafe, you could just get out of that door and run away.’”
Kate says she saw the man’s point and notes that she “didn’t feel threatened” and thought “he was genuinely trying to help.”
She ends her video by asking her viewers, “When you get in an Uber alone, do you choose a specific seat?”
The video garnered over 220,000 views since being posted on Monday. Viewers shared their own responses to the man’s approach in the comments section.
“Good advice; horrific delivery,” read the most-liked comment.
Another said, “I’m sorry WHAT?! That is a WILD thing to say!”
@lovekateinc What’s the right answer here…?
♬ original sound – KATE LOVE
Many people answered Kate’s question about what seat they prefer to sit in when taking an Uber alone.
“I always like to sit behind the passenger seat because I like to have a direct line of sight to anything the driver is doing with his hands,” wrote one person.
“I always sit in the seat behind the passenger seat because of exactly what he said … easiest escape if the driver ends up being a freak,” echoed another.
However, one viewer argued, “I sit behind him because if he tries anything HE is getting ch*ked out first. You aren’t trapping my legs anywhere.” At the same time, another noted, “Realistically most cars have automatic seat recliners (electric) so they recline slow anyway.”
Someone else also shared, “Ok see I was told as a kid to sit behind the driver if kidnapped because you could poke their eyes and cause an accident to draw attention to you.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kate via Instagram direct message and to Uber via email for comment.
