Danger On Demand
Cosmopolitan UK|October 2017

The sharing economy has made it a breeze to get anything you want, any time you want. But the inconvenient truth behind our new convenient lifestyle? Our willingness to trust perfect strangers may be putting our safety at risk.

Hannah Seligson
Danger On Demand

One Saturday night last year, Maria*, 25, was at a rowdy bar celebrating a friend’s birthday. It was one of those great parties where you blink and it’s suddenly 2am. By then, Maria was tired, so she ordered an Uber – an occasional splurge on late nights, although she mostly tried to take the train. Five minutes later, her phone buzzed; the driver was outside. A little tipsy, Maria walked to the curb.“Are you my Uber?” she asked the guy behind the wheel of a car that was just pulling up.

“Yes,” he replied.

She got in, but soon became aware that he was turning onto the motorway in the wrong direction – north, instead of south, towards her home. When she asked why, the driver mumbled something about a different route. ‘Strange,’ she thought. “But I wasn’t going to argue with him,” she recalls. Maybe he knew a shortcut. As they whizzed past exit after exit, though, Maria realised she hadn’t checked his number plate against the one provided by Uber – and that he likely didn’t work for the company.

He demanded she hand over her phone. “Be quiet or I’ll rape you,” he hissed. He claimed to have a gun.

Stunned and terrified, Maria thrust her designer handbag, jewellery and bankcard on the front seat, lying that her cheap gold hoop earrings were expensive and reciting her PIN number. “I thought he was going to do something terrible to me and then leave me on the side of the road,” she says. “I thought I was going to die.”

It felt like hours later when he finally pulled off the motorway, miles from her neighbourhood. “Before I take you home, I’m going to do some pussy work on you,” he said. Panicked, she focused on getting out of the car. At a traffic light, she threw open the door and sprinted into the night.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2017-Ausgabe von Cosmopolitan UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2017-Ausgabe von Cosmopolitan UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS COSMOPOLITAN UKAlle anzeigen
‘Is Three Relationships Too Many?'
Cosmopolitan UK

‘Is Three Relationships Too Many?'

With his girlfriend out of town, Jack’s* wife suggests he finds a third partner

time-read
3 Minuten  |
January 2019
Brave New Beauty
Cosmopolitan UK

Brave New Beauty

Is tech about to revolutionise your skincare regime and transport you into a whole new universe of beautification? Joanna Taylor isn’t always convinced…

time-read
6 Minuten  |
January 2019
How The Gig Economy Is Killing Millennials…
Cosmopolitan UK

How The Gig Economy Is Killing Millennials…

I put in 18-hour days. I work in the same room I sleep in. I never know when or if I’ll be paid. I go days without speaking to anyone.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
April 2019
Could Your #AvoOnToast Get You Headhunted?
Cosmopolitan UK

Could Your #AvoOnToast Get You Headhunted?

Quite possibly. But you’ll have to catch the eye of a new breed of talent scout first. Here’s how…

time-read
5 Minuten  |
April 2019
The Robot Wars
Cosmopolitan UK

The Robot Wars

For decades, mankind has feared the day technology becomes cleverer than us. Now it’s here, and we were too busy trying to sync our Sonos to notice. Welcome to The Big Techover...

time-read
5 Minuten  |
April 2019
Hot-Air Health Myths... Exploded
Cosmopolitan UK

Hot-Air Health Myths... Exploded

Think you’re up to date with the basic rules of staying in shape? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably aren’t…

time-read
5 Minuten  |
March 2019
The Darkside Of BodyBuilding
Cosmopolitan UK

The Darkside Of BodyBuilding

Amateur fitness competitions have gone mainstream – but do they provide a “healthy” cover for those hiding deadly eating disorders? Former competitor Rebecca Barnes, 22, certainly thinks so.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May 2019
The Stacy Dooley Effect
Cosmopolitan UK

The Stacy Dooley Effect

From the frontline to the dancefloor, Stacey Dooley defied all the odds to become TV’s golden girl. But it could have worked out very differently

time-read
8 Minuten  |
May 2019
Kings Of The Night
Cosmopolitan UK

Kings Of The Night

Sex, champagne and parties on tap… what could possibly go wrong? BOBBY PALMER spends the night with the most successful club promoter in London

time-read
9 Minuten  |
May 2019
Is Beauty A Tickıng Timebomb?
Cosmopolitan UK

Is Beauty A Tickıng Timebomb?

With their legions of fans, beauty-brand founders have exploded onto the scene – sometimes becoming celebrities in their own right. But what happens when their behaviour eclipses their products? Laura Capon investigates

time-read
10 Minuten  |
May 2019