Smoke billows from a silver Tata Indica car that has gone up in flames. This, as other vehicles on the road stay clear of the burning car as they drive by. A video of this incident, which took place on TTK Road in Chennai was taken by a passenger who took an Uber cab on Saturday night. Thankfully, both the passenger and the driver got out of the car just in time.
Taking to social media, Pallavi Singh, the passenger, put out a statement detailing what happened. “A word of caution to Uber users out there, who believe their safety is being taken care of with utmost sincerity. Last night, on my trip back home, I sensed a burning smell inside the car. At first my limited imagination made me think that its coming from the outside (sic),” she wrote.
However, she soon realised the danger and horror before her when the car went up the busy TTK road flyover in Chennai’s Alwarpet. Pallavi wrote, “Once the car drove up the TTK road flyover, I saw smoke coming out from the foot area and possibly the AC ducts. To my shock, the driver had not spotted it nor taken any effort to warn me about it. I warned him and asked what was going on.”
— Pallavi Singh (@Pali2285) January 13, 2019
She says that alert motorists, who saw sparks under the car, asked them to pull over. “We stopped and exited the car, only to see it burn down to ashes, and along with it my bag containing my IDs, Dailies and Wallet. I came to know that only the metal skeleton of the seats remained. It was undoubtedly the scariest moment of my life. I cannot get that image out of my head,” stated Pallavi.
Pallavi in her statement then accused Uber of not reaching out to her 12 hours after the incident. She wrote, “And it’s been over 12 hours since this happened and I wonder if Uber even knows this happened or have absolutely nothing to say to me. This is heights of carelessness, ignorance and utter lack of interest in their customers. Thanks Uber. FYI, I saved your driver’s life last night.”
Uber Support replied to Pallavi’s tweet calling it concerning.
Pallavi, this is concerning. We would like to get in touch with you through our safety teams. We understand the urgency and would like for you to direct message us with your registered mobile number at the earliest. https://t.co/1WqzzOmdKe
— Uber India Support (@UberINSupport) January 13, 2019
In an emailed statement to TNM, Uber said, “Uber is grateful that both the rider and driver partner are safe after this incident. We have also reached out to them both and applaud the rider for quickly bringing this issue to our attention. There’s nothing more critical than the safety of our riders and driver partners and we standby to assist the law enforcement with any information they might require.”