Lyft drivers have to complete safety training if they want to pick up passengers

Lyft wasn't joking about a mandatory "community safety education" course.

Any Lyft drivers that missed yesterday's Dec. 15 deadline to complete an online 20-minute program that includes sexual misconduct training from anti-sexual violence group RAINN are blocked from driving on the Lyft ride-hailing app until they complete it.

The program pops up through the Lyft driver app, according to a Lyft driver who completed the course. It's comprised of six short videos, expected to take about 20 minutes to view. The videos cover interactions with passengers, like avoiding certain questions and how to defuse a tense situation. One portion is devoted to reporting safety incidents and what behaviors aren't allowed from passengers and drivers, with a focus on sexual misconduct.

Now, any drivers who haven't finished watching the six videos aren't allowed to drive for Lyft until they do so. A spokesperson wouldn't share how many drivers made the deadline, but the ride-share company is still offering rides, so that's a good sign.

The Rideshare Guy blogger Jay Cradeur said the training was useful and well put together.

"I found the course to be educational, and further heightened my awareness of the variety of passengers who enter my vehicle," he wrote.

Lyft announced the course back in September when it finally added a 911 button to its app. Ride-sharing competitor Uber promised a similar sexual harassment training also through RAINN for drivers next year after it released its first-ever safety report. It's not all on the drivers: Lyft also requires riders to agree to its community guidelines. So be safe, be respectful, and be helpful.