Amazon Pilots New Driver Safety Features After Shootings

Amazon is working on several new safety features for Amazon Flex gig drivers who make deliveries in their own vehicles, the company said. The measures follow several incidents in which residents had shot Flex drivers or threatened them with guns, in many instances saying they had mistaken them for intruders.

Amazon is working on a feature in its app that would display Flex drivers’ pictures and names to customers, spokesperson Maya Vautier said. Other gig companies like Uber already offer similar features. Currently, the Amazon app does not give customers information about who’s delivering their packages. Amazon is also giving a test group of drivers Amazon Flex-branded magnets and lights to put in their cars beginning this month, according to Vautier and emails to drivers seen by The Information.