Hanover Township Mayor's Wellness Advisory Committee Discusses Ride Share Safety

HANOVER TWP: The Mayor's Wellness Advisory Committee meeting that was held on June 26, 2024 provided a forum for ride share safety. The guest speaker for the evening was Dan Casiero, a representative for the #WHATSMYNAME Foundation. Dan spoke about the history of the foundation and its mission.

In 2019, Samantha Josephson got into a vehicle that she thought was her Uber. It was not. The driver was a predator who kidnapped and murdered Samantha. Her family founded #WHATSMYNAME in her memory and has made it their mission to educate others to prevent future tragedies.

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The acronym SAMI (in honor of Samantha) is a helpful and simple way to remember safety checks when entering a ride share vehicle:

• S- Stop and check your security features on your phone
• A- Ask the driver, "What is my name?"
• M- Match the make, model, and license plate of the car with the one displayed in the app
• I- Inform friends/family that you are getting into a ride share vehicle

Samantha's parents have created alliances with high schools, universities, municipalities, police, and more to speak and share about these life-saving safety measures.

The foundation, along with the sponsorship of Walmart, has put up informational signs in the Port Authority of NJ/NY as well as every major NJ/NY airport. They are working with municipalities to have even more signs placed in high traffic, ride share areas. They host fundraisers, such as a 5K run in Robbinsville, NJ, to help their mission of raising awareness.

Mayor Ace Gallagher aims to get every municipality in Morris County behind this initiative. All it takes is spreading the word to friends and family and putting up informational signs in municipalities, businesses, and schools to help the foundation with exposure.

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To learn more visit: whatsmyname.org .

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