I remain fascinated by the idea of ‘social proof’: if other people are doing it then there must be a good reason.
Commuters hop in strangers cars for ride share across the Bay bridge in SF. They hop in strangers cars if there is an Uber logo on them. But somehow hopping in a strangers car whose only motive is generosity is crazy unsafe.
If I were a psycho itching to pick up a victim I would print out an Uber logo from the internet and just drive around waiting for people to hop in my car.
Driving around looking for hitchhikers would be insane since you would run out of gas before finding one. So it makes no sense to be afraid of premeditated psychos, just the spontaneous psychos who get triggered by an opportunity. And that spontaneity could just as easily happen in an Uber or ride share.
