On June 26th, during the National Safety Production Month, DiDi Global Inc. held a safety-themed open day under the banner "Alerting Risks, Building Safety Together." The event invited drivers, passengers, industry experts, and media representatives to visit the company's Safety Alert Center, offering a firsthand look at the work of frontline safety experts and real-time oversight of risk identification, assessment, and intervention throughout the ride-hailing process.
The founder, CEO, and head of the group's safety committee, Cheng Wei, stated, "Ensuring the safety of tens of millions of daily rides is a weighty responsibility for DiDi. Although our safety system has undergone many iterations, we are still on the journey, facing numerous challenges and difficulties. We hope this open day brings transparency, helping DiDi operate its safety measures openly. We also hope society can provide more feedback to jointly promote the safe and healthy development of the industry."
At the event, representatives from various sectors toured the strictly managed DiDi Safety Alert Center, which is rarely open to the public, witnessing a round-the-clock, 24/7 safety operation. To align with the higher risk patterns at night, eighty percent of the safety experts in the center work night shifts, following a standardized process of "AI initial screening and grading, safety expert relay assessment, and rapid intervention for high-risk orders." From the safety experts' perspective, a "trip" extends beyond the ride itself—it encompasses the entire period from the successful booking until the driver and passenger safely part ways. Many risks and hazards occur before pickup or after drop-off. Consequently, DiDi's safety system covers the pre-trip, during-trip, and post-trip phases, with annual investments amounting to tens of billions of yuan for ongoing enhancement.
"We are not waiting for incidents to happen; we are racing against risks," one safety expert remarked. "But the outcome of this race isn't always a win." Leveraging its comprehensive safety framework, the platform currently achieves an 82% risk identification rate and a 99.6% effective intervention rate. On average, physical altercation risks occur in approximately one out of every ten million rides, while verbal misconduct occurs in about one out of every million rides. However, the complexity of scenarios and human unpredictability continually pose persistent challenges to safety efforts.
During the open day, DiDi proactively highlighted several risk scenarios and the current difficulties the platform encounters—specifically, situations where its protective capabilities can significantly diminish.
Identifying Key Safety Vulnerabilities
The first challenge is offline transactions that circumvent the platform. When drivers and passengers cancel online orders to conduct private deals offline, all safety mechanisms—including trip tracking, in-car audio recording, and ride-sharing features—become inactive, creating a high-risk gray area.
The second involves minors traveling alone. If parents use their own adult accounts to book rides for their children without notifying the platform, DiDi may be unable to promptly activate enhanced protection measures designed specifically for minors. Unaccompanied minors are more susceptible to risks such as becoming uncontactable or experiencing conflicts during the ride; it is recommended that they be accompanied by an adult family member or friend.
The third issue pertains to missing or inaccurate information collection. In-car audio recording and location tracking rely on user authorization. Factors like device obstruction, signal loss, or background noise can prevent AI from capturing effective clues, directly impacting the accuracy of risk identification.
The fourth challenge is the sudden escalation of minor disputes or instances of premeditated dangerous behavior that lack prior indicators such as historical complaints or abnormal records, making it difficult for technology to predict hidden risks.
A Collective Effort for Safety
"Safety is a relay race involving the platform, drivers and passengers, and society as a whole," stated Cao Le, head of technology and safety for DiDi's ride-hailing business. "We are undoubtedly putting in our utmost effort to ensure safety, but the platform's capabilities have many limitations and boundaries. Only when the entire society possesses sufficient safety awareness and works in concert with the platform can we better protect the safety of drivers and passengers."
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