We care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of all Dashers. Every day, Dashers complete millions of deliveries that connect and empower local communities. The overwhelming majority of deliveries – more than 99.99% – are completed without any safety-related incident at all.
We’re proud of the fact that for so many Dashers, especially women, safety is a key reason why DoorDash is their platform of choice. Last year’s national Dasher survey found 97% of female Dashers and 95% of male Dashers prefer delivery over rideshare in part because they believe it’s safer. It reflects the robust safety measures we’ve put in place including free occupational accident insurance if a Dasher is injured on the job and a dedicated 24/7 Trust & Safety team.
While we have made strong progress, we’re clear-eyed about safety and recognize there will always be more work to be done to help make dashing as safe as possible. That’s why our teams are constantly working on new technology and safety features to help Dashers stay safe before, during, and after every dash.
A year ago, we launched SafeDash™, an in-app safety toolkit powered by ADT, that helps Dashers feel safe and get help within seconds when they need it most. Since launching SafeDash, the response from Dashers has been extremely positive: a recent survey found that because of SafeDash 36% of Dashers say they dash more often and 30% of Dashers say they dash more at night.
Today, we’re sharing an update on how we’re making dashing even safer with the launch of five new safety features.
SafeDash™ Check-In
To give Dashers even greater peace of mind, we’re introducing SafeDash Check-In. If we detect that a dash is taking longer than expected, we’ll automatically check in to see if the Dasher is okay. If they feel unsafe or are unresponsive, an ADT safety agent will call them and, if necessary, provide assistance or contact 911. SafeDash Check-In will initially launch in New York City and Washington, D.C. before being rolled out across the U.S.
Real-Time Safety Alerts
When an emergency happens or disaster strikes, every second counts. That’s why we’re partnering with samdesk, a global crisis detection platform, to roll out Real-Time Safety Alerts. In the event of an emergency, we can quickly alert Dashers, customers and merchants about the incident and suspend operations near the impacted area. This includes canceling any active deliveries so Dashers can avoid the impacted area and stay out of harm’s way. We will also proactively check-in on Dashers near any impacted area to make sure they are okay. So far, we’ve piloted Real-Time Safety Alerts in response to active shootings, bomb threats and building fires across the U.S. Real-Time Safety Alerts will be available in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
SafeChat
To help promote a safe, respectful environment and protect customers and prevent safety incidents, we’re introducing SafeChat. If our technology detects inappropriate or offensive language in a chat on our app, the person who sent the message will receive a warning reminding them of the potential consequences. The person who received the message will automatically be given the option to report the issue and if they are a Dasher they can unassign from the delivery without any penalty. SafeChat is now active in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Safety Reporting
We’re making it faster and easier than ever for Dashers to report a safety incident during or after a delivery. If a customer makes a Dasher feel unsafe, they can immediately report it via in-app chat or call for investigation. Dashers can also choose to block future deliveries made through our platform to that customer in the future. This feature is available to Dashers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Porch Lights Reminders
We’ve listened to Dashers who have told us that better lighting would make it easier for them to find the right address and make them feel safer when dashing at night. We will send a notification to customers asking them to turn their porch or house lights on as the Dasher is approaching. Porch Lights Reminders are now active in the U.S, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
“When we launched SafeDash a year ago, it was a giant step forward in becoming the platform most trusted by individuals looking for app-based work,” said Rajat Shroff, Vice President of Product at DoorDash. “As we continue to dream big in developing the best earnings platform for supplemental income, we’re excited to roll out our largest safety product update ever, giving Dashers greater peace of mind while on the road.”
We look forward to continuing to develop and launch innovative new safety features so Dashers earn with more confidence knowing they can get help when they need it.
