Safety and Privacy

Safety

Trust is something a person earns. This requires time. It should not be given quickly, foolishly or without careful consideration.

We state the obvious here because there are some people out there who should not be trusted. You are the only person who can decide this for yourself. RideSearch cannot and does not certify, endorse or attest to the character of RideSearch users.

We at RideSearch are not qualified to recommend specific safety procedures. The items below are among the practices you may consider to help ensure your personal safety:

• Do not disclose your real name, email, address or employer at first. Use RideSearch to communicate with them using your screen name. (This will shield your personal information and email address.)
• Do not ride with someone you don’t trust or that makes you uncomfortable.
• You may agree to an initial trial period so both parties can "test the waters".
• Make it clear at the onset of the carpool that there may be circumstances later that will make it impossible for you to continue. This makes it clear that the carpool is not a "permanent" arrangement and gives you a diplomatic way out later.
• Ride with more than one other individual. This makes the experience safer and enhances all aspects of the program.
• Make your pick-up/drop-off point a public location until you thoroughly trust the other individual. (You may desire to make this arrangement permanent.) Meet at a public park or contact churches, restaurants or other establishments that benefit from having cars in their lot.
• Arrange for a face-to-face meeting in a public setting before agreeing to ride together. This will give you a chance to “get a feel” for the person and clear up any questions, concerns or special needs you may have.
• If you agree to ride together, get the other person’s driver’s license or license plate or VIN (vehicle registration number) in advance and share that information with a trusted friend or relative.
• Take a picture of the other person and their vehicle.
• Finally, trust your instincts. If something causes “red flags” to go off, do not agree to the carpool. If you're currently carpooling, politely terminate the arrangement immediately and arrange an alternate ride home if necessary. All participation is "at will" and can be terminated at any time by any person for any reason.

Privacy

RideSearch takes your privacy and its information management policies very seriously.

In short, RideSearch will not collect any personally identifiable information unless that information is specifically provided by a RideSearch user. Additionally, the information collected is the bare minimum deemed necessary by RideSearch to successfully provide ride matching and site administration.

You will control access to your personal information at all times. If you choose, you will be able to release some or all of your personal information to specific RideSearch user(s) when you feel comfortable doing so. (* As always, RideSearch urges care in the establishment of relationships or meetings with strangers. See our Safety Section above for tips and suggestion to ensure your RideSearch experience is a positive one.)

Information Sharing

RideSearch does not share any personally identifiable information with external parties. This includes information like home or work address, phone numbers, email addresses or your name.

RideSearch does collect information on the general use the site. This is sometimes referred to as “Aggregate Data.” This includes information like peak usage data, most visited pages and average length of visits per user. This is done through the use of cookies (to store user preferences and rudimentary data) and in some cases IP addresses (used to facilitate the collection of aggregate data). Aggregate data may be shared with third parties, but not in a personally identifiable form.

The exception to this policy would be that RideSearch is compelled by law to disclose personal information or that we have reason to believe that a user may need to be contacted immediately.

Policy Changes

RideSearch retains the right to change, modify, add or remove its policies at any time. Changes will be posted on this page (http://www.ridesearch.com/content/SafetyandPrivacy.aspx) and users are encouraged to check this page periodically. Your continued use of this site indicates your agreement with all RideSearch policies.

If you feel there is a discrepancy between our actual use of the information and the policies stated here, you can contact us at the address below:

RideSearch.com
1352 Riley Dr.
Carrollton, Texas
75007


* Please note:

• This policy applies to RideSearch.com exclusively and is not in effect on other sites that link to or from RideSearch.com
• If any portion of this policy is deemed invalid in a court of law, all other portions of this policy remain in effect
• In no event is RideSearch, its developers, its owners or its operators liable for any injuries or losses by any party related to the use of this web site. You are responsible for your own actions and not RideSearch.com.