Uber, Bolt and Freenow drivers - how to stay safe and deal with an aggressive passenger?
Working as a driver for ride-hailing apps means daily contact with hundreds of strangers every month. The vast majority of rides go calmly, in a pleasant or at least neutral atmosphere. Even so, every driver must be aware that in this job – as in any work involving transport and customer service – difficult, confrontational or potentially dangerous situations can arise.
That is why awareness of the risks, the ability to assess a situation and knowledge of the basic safety rules are key, so that a driver can not only protect passengers and their vehicle, but also look after their own peace of mind, health and safety. This article will help you take a broader look at safety in passenger transport and prepare for the various scenarios that may come up in your daily work.
Below you will find a complete guide written on the basis of many years of experience. It will be useful not only for new drivers and not only for Ramnext drivers. Enjoy the read!
1. The aggressive passenger
This is one of the most demanding scenarios, and it will be the main part of this article. Aggression can take various forms: a raised voice, vulgar comments, attempts to force certain behaviour, sometimes gestures suggesting a physical threat, and even physical assault. A conflict with a passenger usually starts with a minor exchange of words, so keep your “instinct for self-preservation” – you are at work, not at the speaker’s podium in parliament, so do not escalate the conflict, even if you feel that the person you are driving poses no threat to you and their opinions are getting on your nerves.
It simply makes no sense – differences of opinion always arise, even among friends and family, so it is no wonder they arise when you deal with hundreds of strangers. Do not try to prove you are right at all costs or to judge the passenger. During a short ride, trying to force someone to share your view will most likely end in failure, frustration on both sides, a low rating and no tip (although that is the smallest problem).
How to avoid conflicts?
First of all, stay calm and keep the conversation neutral. Nothing bad will happen if you do not express your opinion – even when the passenger is talking complete nonsense. In many situations it is far wiser simply to let some comments pass, even if you are fully aware that what you are hearing is not true. I am speaking from experience: you see this person for a few minutes, and trying to correct their views is completely pointless in this job. Your task is to get them to their destination – and that is it. Focus on driving and on your own safety.
It is worse when someone has clearly had a bad day and is looking for an outlet for their emotions – you are not a punchbag, so if this is not just an ordinary difference of opinion and things are starting to heat up – the passenger starts insulting you or behaving aggressively – you have several ways out of the situation.
- Invest in a dashcam that also records the inside of the car. A camera in the car works preventively – the sight of a camera often cools a passenger’s emotions, protects the driver against false accusations, makes it possible to document aggression, vandalism or attempted theft, and also supports the driver when reporting to the app or to the police. There are many devices of this kind on the market and everyone will find something to suit their pocket. If you are on a tight budget, try ordering a dashcam from AliExpress or TEMU, where such devices are much cheaper (from as little as 100 zł) – even poor-quality recordings are better than none, and the passenger does not know what equipment you have. If you decide on a camera that records the inside of the car, also think about a sticker on the passenger door window saying that there is a camera in the car.
- Cut the conversation short and finish the ride in silence (if the situation allows it: the passenger is not insulting you and is not aggressive, but you feel they are starting to get worked up) – you can try to ignore the passenger and focus on driving – do not keep topics going, and answer questions briefly and neutrally: “I don’t know”, “I don’t know much about that”, “I have no opinion”, “Yes / No” – making the passenger feel they are talking to themselves often discourages further discussion.
- Set a boundary with a calm and firm message (if the situation has heated up and the passenger is starting to behave aggressively or insult you). Without judging and without raising your voice, you can say:
– “Please calm down, otherwise we will end the ride.“,
– “Please don’t raise your voice / don’t use words like that towards me, or I will have to end the ride”
You can say anything, as long as you name the problem and state the consequences. Carrying on driving without reacting may put you in the role of a victim and encourage the passenger to go further – a clear message about the problem and its consequences can cool the passenger’s ardour somewhat. - If the passenger is behaving aggressively and you feel they may attack you or damage your car – stop the vehicle as soon as possible. Ideally, do it in a public place where other people are around – but you will not always have that option. Even so, for your own safety you should stop the car – a struggle in a moving car can end tragically.
Stopping the car will most likely escalate the conflict, so depending on the situation you have to decide whether to stay inside and ask the passenger to leave the vehicle, or to get out yourself because there is a risk of a struggle in the cramped interior of the car. In both cases you must have gel pepper spray to hand – it is essential equipment for every taxi, and that is no exaggeration.
Call 112. The myth of “calling the police for no reason” practically does not exist – if you have been attacked or had to use the spray, the call is fully justified, even if the attacker has run away.
If you have used the spray, you must call the emergency services. You cannot just drive off and leave a blinded person in the street. Such a person cannot see anything, is disoriented and may walk under a car, fall over or seriously hurt themselves. Call for help and stay nearby so that nobody gets hurt.
Your duty is to:
– Call the police – clearly and specifically report that there was an attack, that you used the spray in self-defence and that intervention is needed.
– Stay nearby, but without engaging with the passenger – keep your distance and make sure nobody gets hurt.
– Not leave the attacker alone, because in that state they are literally a danger to life – both their own and that of other road users.
This matters not only for human and moral reasons, but also for legal ones. Leaving the scene may be interpreted as abandoning a person in danger, which can bring serious consequences for you.
You called the police, you defended yourself, the situation has been documented – that is the best, safest and most sensible end to such an incident.
Under Article 25 of the Polish Criminal Code (Kodeks karny), you may use pepper spray against a passenger only when they are acting against you in a way that directly threatens your health or life. Shouting, name-calling, being drunk or rude does not meet these conditions, so it gives no grounds for using the spray.
How to defend yourself?
In practice, the only realistic self-defence tool that makes sense in the cramped space of a car is gel pepper spray – with an aerosol spray you will almost certainly feel its effects too. All the other gadgets, such as telescopic batons, CO2 pistols, stun guns, knuckle-dusters and similar items, not only fail in a car, but can lead to dramatic consequences.
In the cabin you have only a few dozen centimetres of space. You cannot effectively use items that need a swing, distance or precision. Worse still, the passenger may snatch them from you, turn them against you or cause accidental injuries for which you will be held responsible.
In addition, possessing or using many of these tools may be treated as carrying a dangerous object or a weapon, which, in the event of a police intervention and subsequent court proceedings, may mean serious legal consequences, a charge of exceeding the limits of self-defence, or huge compensation and legal costs that can drag on for years.
Pepper spray, on the other hand, lets you act at short range, does not require a physical fight, does not cause permanent injuries and, when the conditions of lawful self-defence are met, is a legal self-defence tool.
Which pepper spray to choose?
In a car it absolutely has to be pepper spray in gel form, not a “mist”, “cloud” or aerosol. If you release a classic cloud of spray in a small, closed cabin, you will feel the effects too, and then you will not be able to see, breathe, drive or escape. Gel works directionally, in a focused stream, so you hit the attacker and not everyone around.
Pepper spray is not something to economise on. You will use it once in a million cases, very rarely – many drivers have in fact never had to use it – but if such a situation does happen, it has to be a reliable, proven, effective and instantly acting product. This is no place for experiments, half-measures or the cheapest sprays for 10 zł – you can use one of those to season a pork chop.
That is why we recommend Fox Labs FivePointThree (Gold) (EAN: 817444010140).
It is a spray tried by hundreds of drivers, also tested by us personally, and incredibly effective – it works fast, strongly and predictably. It is a gel, so it is ideal for a car. You can buy it on Allegro for 120 to 150 zł, which for this quality is absolutely worth every złoty.
Online you will also find plenty of test videos of this spray – they all show that it is one of the strongest and most reliable forms of defence on the market. In a situation of real danger, seconds count, and only top-shelf equipment will give you a chance to get out of it in one piece.
What does it look like in practice?
Below is a recording of a real situation in which the passenger was looking for trouble from the moment he got in, suggesting that the driver had pulled up at the wrong address (30 m further on than he should have). It is a perfect example of how you should react. The driver stayed calm and, despite understandable emotions, managed to get the passenger out of the car once he realised that escalation was inevitable.
You will find more real situations on the TikTok profile: MrBoltman
2. A passenger under the influence of alcohol or other substances
A passenger under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants is one of the most common difficult situations in passenger transport – especially in the evenings and at weekends. Such a customer can behave in extremely different ways: from cheerful, chatty and “friendly”, through loud and pushy, to openly aggressive and unpredictable. The problem is not the fact that someone has had a drink, but that their control over their behaviour, their judgement and their boundaries are lowered, and their emotional reactions can be completely detached from reality.
On top of that comes a whole layer of typically practical problems: the passenger may have trouble with coordination when getting in and out, fail to manage the seat belt, lean forward onto the driver’s seat, try to open the door while the car is moving, suddenly reach for something around the dashboard or touch the steering wheel as a joke. There is also quite often a risk of the interior getting dirty – vomit, spilt drinks, dirty shoes after a party – which for the driver means a real loss of time and money.
You have the right to refuse a ride if the passenger is heavily intoxicated with alcohol or drugs. If you see that someone can barely stand or is vomiting, do not stop and do not start a conversation - drive past and cancel the ride. Getting into a discussion will end in escalation, and taking such a ride in many cases ends with cleaning the rear seat. Also, never agree to carry an unconscious person whom their "friends" are bundling into your car.
How to protect yourself?
First of all – extremely drunk passengers should be avoided and such rides should not be accepted. A person who can barely stand, is unconscious or is vomiting should not be carried by taxi. This is not only a risk to the driver and the car, but also to the passenger.
I once had a situation in winter on the market square in Katowice, at -15°C, when a group of merry friends tried to squeeze an unconscious woman into my car. They claimed that “she’s just drunk” and “she’ll wake up outside her house”. But I had no certainty at all – I did not know whether she really was drunk or perhaps under the influence of drugs, whether something had happened to her earlier, or whether she needed immediate medical help.
I refused to do the ride. Of course this caused huge outrage and accusations that “she’ll freeze because of me”. The temperature was extremely low and the situation was tense, but it is not the driver who is responsible for rescuing a person in that state, and carrying someone unconscious in the car could have ended tragically.
Instead, I did what every responsible driver should do – I reported the situation to 112, giving the emergency services a full description of what was happening. I do not know how the story ended, but I know one thing: taking that ride would have been irresponsible and extremely risky.
This situation taught me a few important rules:
- When picking up passengers, especially at night and at weekends, always pull up with your doors locked. Until you stop and look at the person up close, you cannot reliably assess their condition.
- If you see that someone can barely stand, is staggering or vomiting – do not stop. Drive on and cancel the ride. This is not a lack of empathy, but looking after your own safety and that of your vehicle.
- Never take an unconscious person. You do not know why they lost consciousness, what state of health they are in or what happened before. By carrying such a person, you expose yourself not only to huge health and legal risks, but also to potential accusations – from theft, through drugging, to sexual violence.
Another time I was driving a young man who looked completely sober. He behaved normally, spoke logically and nothing suggested there might be a problem. Only after a few minutes of driving did he suddenly feel unwell – and this time the situation ended badly. He soiled the whole rear seat.
In conversation it turned out that just before leaving a house party he had drunk a few “rozchodniaczki”. For the uninitiated: a rozchodniaczek is the last shot of vodka “for the road”, before leaving a party. This custom is very popular and often means that a passenger who looks sober and fully together suddenly starts vomiting – without any warning.
This situation made me realise one more thing: it is worth keeping disposable sick bags in the car. It is a simple, cheap and extremely effective way to save the car’s interior from serious damage and cleaning costs.
But not just any bags will do. An ordinary disposable plastic bag from Biedronka (the discount supermarket) will be no use at all in such a situation – it leaks easily, is hard to seal, and the logistics of “what do I do with this now?” become an extra problem.
Dedicated sick bags cost about 11-15 zł for 10, and they can save both the car and the driver’s nerves. They are definitely worth carrying in the car all the time. After use, you just twist them shut – thanks to their special design nothing gets out, so you can calmly take them to the nearest bin.
And importantly – vomiting in the car does not only happen with drunk passengers. It also often affects adults and children with motion sickness. That is why such a kit is an absolute must-have for every taxi driver.
You can buy the bags in some pharmacies and on Allegro.pl.
Below you will find a short video showing how it works:
3. The provocative passenger looking for trouble
This type does not have to be physically aggressive, but can create a tense atmosphere. This is exactly the type of person from the example video above. Such a person may deliberately provoke conflicts, e.g. by:
questioning your route,
making political, religious or offensive comments,
trying to drag you into an argument.
How to react:
do not respond to provocation, and avoid conversations on controversial topics,
use short, neutral replies,
if you see that the passenger wants to escalate – end the conversation and focus on driving,
in the case of more serious provocation: stop and end the ride (see point 1).
4. The genuinely dissatisfied passenger
Here it is most often about wrong expectations, poor navigation, traffic jams or errors in the app.
How to react:
be patient,
briefly explain the situation (e.g. the app sets the route, the traffic jam is beyond your control),
offer a neutral solution, e.g. changing the route or opening a window,
if the passenger sees that you are dealing with it in a matter-of-fact way, the situation usually calms down.
If anything raises doubts - whether about safety, a passenger's worrying behaviour or even a minor incident that did not escalate - it is worth reporting it in the app the passenger used. Companies such as Uber, Bolt and Freenow take every report of incidents with passengers very seriously, because it directly affects the safety of the whole driver community. It is also worth remembering one more thing: if an aggressive passenger files a complaint out of revenge and lies about you, and you report nothing, the system may automatically block your account for several working days until the matter is cleared up. Reporting your side of the story straight after the ride is the best form of protection - both against unfair accusations and against unnecessary account blocks. That is why, for your own good, it is always worth reporting such situations.
5. Summary
In any difficult situation – regardless of emotions, injustice or a sense of being wronged – one thing matters most: stay as calm as possible and look after your own safety above all. You are the one driving that car home to your family, every ride ends at some point, and nothing is a good enough reason to risk your health or life. Well-chosen preventive measures (a dashcam, gel spray, sensing a “strange” passenger early, avoiding unnecessary discussions and extremely drunk passengers) can do a huge amount of good and mean that most of the worst scenarios simply never happen.
It is also worth keeping things in proportion. Assaults, beatings and serious physical violence in taxis and passenger transport are still a tiny fraction of all rides. Out of just over 1,000,000 rides we have analysed, only 18 were reported as genuinely problematic in terms of physical violence (fights, assaults, beatings – not counting vomiting, verbal rows or other standard problems). That is only about 0.002% of all rides. Statistically, then, the vast majority of rides end calmly – but a sensible driver is also prepared for that tiny fraction of situations in which they must be able to defend themselves and look after themselves.
FAQ - safety for Uber, Bolt and Freenow drivers
The most frequently asked questions about the safety of app drivers (Uber, Bolt, Freenow), dashcams, reporting passengers and the legal rules.
1. Which dashcams for Uber, Bolt and Freenow do you specifically recommend? +
- Up to 150 zł (budget) - simple dual cameras from Allegro, AliExpress or TEMU, e.g. models along the lines of "HD dual-lens TAXI dash recorder". This is the basic level, but better than having no recording.
- Around 300 zł - e.g. Xblitz Jera or similar dashcams with an interior camera, designed with taxis and Uber, Bolt and Freenow in mind (better night-time quality, more stable operation).
- Around 600-900 zł - e.g. Vantrue N2S / N4, Viofo A229 Pro Duo IR or other "front + interior (+ rear)" sets, which are often recommended for taxis and professional fleets.
- records the inside of the car (cabin, rear seat),
- records well after dark,
- records in a loop and supports cards of at least 128 GB,
- is mounted firmly (so that it does not fall off at the first pothole).
2. What is the procedure for reporting a problem passenger in Uber, Bolt and Freenow? +
- After the ride ends, go to the ride details in the driver app and tap Help → Problem with a trip → Problem with a passenger, choose exactly what your report is about, describe the situation and attach recordings or photos if you have them.
3. Can I ask a passenger to get out anywhere? +
- they are aggressive or threaten you,
- they are damaging the car,
- they pose a real threat to driving safety.
- stop in a safe place - a lay-by, car park, lit street or bus stop, not a traffic lane or the hard shoulder of an expressway,
- do not expose the passenger to obvious danger (e.g. a forest at 3:00 a.m. at -10°C when they are drunk and cannot cope on their own).
4. Can I record the inside of the car? What about GDPR (RODO)? +
- you must have a legal basis - usually legitimate interest (the safety of the driver and passengers),
- you must inform the passenger that the ride may be recorded - e.g. with a sticker on the window,
- you must not publish recordings showing recognisable faces, e.g. on social media, without a strong basis (e.g. consent) - the exception is using the recording as evidence in a court case.
5. How should I keep pepper spray in the car so that it is close at hand? +
- The best places: the driver's door pocket, a holder by the centre console, a special holster on your belt.
- Do not keep it in the boot, deep in a door compartment or in a backpack on the rear seat - in a stressful situation you will not reach it there.
- Check the temperature range in the manufacturer's instructions - do not leave the canister in full sun behind the windscreen all day.
- Every now and then check the expiry date and the condition of the canister - out-of-date spray may work less well or not at all.
6. Can I refuse a ride with a child who has no car seat? +
Polish regulations generally require children under 150 cm to travel in a car seat, but there are exceptions, including for taxis. Under the law, then, you can carry children without a car seat without any consequences.
Even so, as a driver:
- you have the right to refuse the ride if you believe that carrying the child without a car seat is dangerous,
- you can politely explain that, for the child's sake, you require a car seat or ask for one to be brought,
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