"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
The state of Colorado prides itself on innovation. The Democrat governor, John Hickenlooper, even launched an innovation "branding" campaign to that effect. The signing into law of a bill that "legalized" ride-share services like Uber and Lyft last month certainly fit into that narrative. Or so thought Dave Cook before, he says, he was pulled over by police in a speed trap in Denver on the way to the airport in an Uber ride. He writes at Geek Wire:
My Uber driver was tagged and we were pulled over. There was no mention of speeding when the officer approached. The officer, who didn't identify himself immediately, asked for the Uber driver's license, registration and insurance (The driver had all of that). The officer then opened the backseat door where I was sitting and asked if I was paying for the ride. I said what do you mean? He asked again: Are you paying to have this person drive you to the airport? I said yes. He then asked me how much I was being charged. I said I didn't know the exact amount because I hadn't reached the destination yet. He pushed the issue about the cost and then asked if this was an Uber ride. Both the driver and I said yes. Then the officer asked again how much the driver was charging me. I said the estimate was somewhere in the $35 to $45 range. The officer then told us that "he was going to educate us on Colorado law today." Uber was illegal in the state, he said.
Cook writes that eventually the cop asked him for his license as well, and then gave the driver a ticket for speeding. According to Cook, the cop was also pressuring him to take a free ride from the police but would not answer when Cook asked whether what he was doing in an Uber ride was illegal. Read the rest of Cook's account here.
Check out Reason on Uber and Reason TV on the D.C. government's attempt to kill Uber in the nation's capital below:
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