House passes ‘Samantha Josephson safety act’

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)- South Carolina lawmakers have voted to moved forward with the “Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act” which  would require illuminated signs in all Ubers and Lyfts.

Now that the bill has been passed in the House it now goes into the Senate, making the Wednesday deadline.

If passed in both the House and Senate the bill will become law this year.

The bill was filed four days after Josephson’s death by Representative Seth Rose, (D-Richland), with Representative Micah Caskey, (R-Lexington).

Samantha Josephson, 21, was alone when she requested an Uber ride early Friday morning, police said. After she got into a stranger’s car, mistaking it for her Uber, the child safely locks were activated, preventing her from escaping, police said.

The “Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act” would require ride-sharing vehicles to have an illuminated, company-provided sign with the company’s “trademark or logo that is patently visible so as to be seen in darkness,” according to the bill.

In larger cities, illuminated lights are mandatory. But that’s not the case in Columbia, South Carolina, Rose said.

The bill also requires that an Uber or Lyft employee who stops working as a driver must return the light to the company, Rose said.