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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - DoorDash announced a pair of safety features today in its app aimed at improving safety for food deliverers in the Los Angeles area, just hours after one of its drivers was shot while making a delivery in La Mirada.
DoorDash drivers in Los Angeles will begin using the new SafeDash features, part of an in-app toolkit created by security professionals at ADT, this month before it is available nationwide, according to the company.
The two new features are the safety reassurance call and the emergency assistance button. The safety reassurance call is available when drivers are in an unsafe situation and will connect them to an ADT agent through the app. ADT will call the driver and remain on the phone until the person is in a safe place. In the event the situation escalates, ADT will contact 911 to request an emergency response.
The emergency assistance button is available for deliverers to use in emergency situations. ADT will contact 911 on the driver's behalf and discreetly remain in contact with the deliverer through text messaging.
``Making deliveries with DoorDash takes me all over the greater Los Angeles area -- driving through the city and exploring new parts of our beautiful region is one of my favorite things about dashing,'' Ronae Christensen, a Los Angeles area Dasher, said in a statement released by the company. ``But if I'm ever in an unfamiliar area, I'll always make sure to give a friend a call and stay on the phone with them until I'm feeling more comfortable.
``Now, with SafeDash, I have a more secure and consistent way to seek reassurance.''
The announcement came hours after a woman was shot while making a DoorDash delivery in La Mirada. Sheriff's officials said the woman was followed by suspects in a silver sedan, and after she delivered an order in the 13000 block of El Moro near Foster Road around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, shots were fired into her car, striking her in the abdomen.
The woman was able to drive to Buena Park in Orange County, where she called deputies and was taken to a hospital.
It was unclear if her work with DoorDash had any connection to the shooting. Sheriff's officials said they were investigating another shooting around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in South Whittier, also involving suspects in a silver sedan.