Mark Waslick: Uber driver says police not the problem

Uber driver says police not the problem

I read the article on Uber drivers being targeted by Amherst police (“Police, Uber drivers at odds,” April 4) and the drivers’ slant on the limited, one- sided information that was gathered.

I have been an Uber driver in the Northampton/Amherst area going on 2½ years. I consistently drive 20 to 25 hours per week on average. The only time I have had contact with the Amherst or Northampton police is when I was at fault. They were once when I stopped to pick up riders and I was in a bicycle lane, and once when I had a headlight out. Neither time was I cited.

The safety issue as I see it is when students brazenly cross the street, with or without a phone to their ear, wearing dark clothing and without care for their own or anyone else’s safety.

I am a little bit older than the average Uber driver and may have a different perspective, but the police are not the problem.

Mark Waslick

Florence

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