Bop It in an Uber: the most inventive ways to stop crime before it happens

Uber is trialling children's toys and mirrors in a bid to prevent drunk customers becoming aggressive. But do such simple techniques really work?

As anyone with a toddler, terrier or a black belt in karate will know, distraction techniques can work wonders. The latest to realise this is the taxi company Uber, which is hoping distraction will protect its drivers from being assaulted by drunken fares. In one US city, Uber drivers are taking part in an experiment in which they leave a Bop It - a noisy, electronic children's toy - on the back seat, for their tipsier passengers to play with. Drivers, the company hopes, will be safer from physical attacks, though not, presumably, from intense irritation.

"An intoxicated rider who is engaged in something interesting is less likely to be irritable and aiming aggression at the driver," said Joe Sullivan, Uber's chief security officer. It is not the only behaviour-modification experiment the company is trying. In a rather less infantilising move, it has also advised drivers to install mirrors on the back of seats so passengers can see themselves - the thinking is that this is more likely to make them aware of their actions.