Gurgaon: Uber cab driver falls asleep, passenger drives himself home

Gurgaon: A 23-year old financial analyst from Gurgaon was forced to drive himself home after the driver of the Uber cab he had boarded fell asleep.

According to reports, Ishaan Gill, who had hired a Uber cab from Defence Colony to DLF Phase-3 in Gurgaon on May 15 at 12:36 am, drove himself home after moving the sleeping driver to the passenger seat.

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Gill said the driver looked half-asleep when he arrived to pick him up. However, he decided to get into the cab after the driver assured him he was fine.
“(But) At Aurobindo Marg, I looked up from my phone and saw that the driver was about to hit a divider. He was asleep at the wheel,” said Gill.

Gill then asked the driver to park the car and gave him some water. He showed the driver his license and took his permission to drive. “He agreed and I drove home,” Gill said.

On reaching his house, Gill said he tried to wake up the driver to pay him but he did not stir. He received a bill of Rs 427 for the ride and left Rs 500 in the driver’s pocket. He asked the security guard of his housing society to take care of the driver. Gill added that the driver was not drunk but seemed to have consumed some sort of intoxicant. The driver told the passenger that he had 'taken a pill'. In the morning on May 16, Gill informed Uber. He also posted his experience on Facebook.

“Had a horrific experience with an Uber driver… He fell asleep at the wheel as he had taken ‘pills’ to stay awake… I had to put him in the passenger seat and drive myself home. Pathetic background checks. Very disturbing.”
Uber responded to the post — “Hey Ishaan, please share the trip details via support@uber.com and let us know your registered email ID. We will get in touch with your right away.”

Uber then offered to reimburse Gill the entire Rs 500 he had spent on the journey. The company added that the passenger shouldn’t have driven himself home since it could have ‘legal implications’.