When @ImranKhan got into an Uber, his driver explained that the reason all the other Ubers in their traffic jam were driving so unsafely is that they're sharecroppers hiring their cars from a millionaire who won't pay them until they make quota.
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The drivers are too economically precarious to lease cars on their own, so this guy acts as a subprime lender, and part of his deal is that the payments Uber sends to the drivers actually get diverted to his bank account, and they don't see a penny until they hit quota.
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They're people who are working fulltime jobs and then driving Uber before and after those jobs to make ends meet. So they have to (literally) cut corners if they're going to make this work, but if they get a ticket or lose points due to passenger reviews, they lose the car.
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This was in DC, and the subprime loan-shark was based in Virginia, but you can imagine that it happens everywhere (Kahn's replies from passengers who've heard the same tale elsewhere suggests that this is true).
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If you get run down by one of these guys, it's the market at work: their access to capital is limited by their economic situation; their wages are determined by supply and demand, they need to eat, clothe themselves, and have shelter. This is a totally predictable outcome.
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