Amidist the hustle and bustle of daily life, some riders inadvertently leave items behind in my rideshare vehicle. The most commonly forgotten items are phones, wallets, keys, or sunglasses. Creating a major inconvenience, since I have to go out of my way in returning riders’ lost item.

The task of returning lost items is both stressful and time-consuming, because I typically go above and beyond in tracking down owners and returning their lost items. Although it’s a big pain in the butt, there’s usually a nice, juicy bounty waiting for me. But the experience of “doing the right thing” is also gratifying. As I would also want my lost item returned to me. Do onto others as they do onto you.

But I’ve also had some nasty things left behind in my vehicle that riders wouldn’t want back - like boogers, fingernails, and this filthy dollar and half-smoked blunt (1st video link below). And this creates another inconvenience: I have to deal with the next rider being upset when discovering nasty, rubbish left behind by the previous rider.

Though, the filthy dollar and blunt was far from the nastiest item left in my vehicle. I constantly find blood-soaked band-aids that have fallen off the riders and onto my car floor. I once found dentures inside a plastic storage container. Plastic bottles filled with tobacco dip spit are left in my door cupholders. And I clean up boogers or fingernails almost daily. I just wish riders would stop leaving these nasty items behind!

My Top 5 nastiest items left behind:

• Band-Aids

• Dentures

• Boogers

• Filled Plastic Bottle of Tobacco Dip Spit

• Fingernails

Sometimes things just fall out of people's pockets. It is what is it - no hard feelings. Roads are full of potholes and other haphazards, so items are destined to fall out of our hands, bags, or pockets.

However, what if your vehicle turned into a real-life money tree? I once had a rider that left $21 in my vehicle when a bump shook the cash out of his pocket (see video below). I reached out to the rider through the app after I got home and reviewed the dash camera footage. But I never heard back from that rider. So, if you see him, tell him I still have the tip he left me ;-)

I do look in the back seat after every ride. And I wipe down seats and door handles after every 7-10 rides. But my eyes can’t catch everything, and sometimes I miss an item. I once had a rider that was visiting from Washington DC, and claimed he left his wallet in my vehicle. Unfortunately, it was a few hours and several rides later by the time he reached out, and another rider must have grabbed it.

The super-majority of items are left behind at nighttime. And there are two contributing factors: alcohol and darkness. At nighttime, riders can’t see that they misplaced their wallet, keys, or phone in a dark vehicle, and are too inebriated to remember to double-check their belongings. And it is also difficult for me to spot these items at nighttime.

However, I did invest in an LED lighting kit that projects light onto my vehicle’s interior floor. This has drastically cut down on the number of items left behind in my vehicle at nighttime! It also adds a nice ambiance and I’ve received many compliments from riders. I think it’s worth the investment, so check it on Amazon (link below).

I installed these lights in my car immediately following a rider showing up at my house at 6am in search of his phone he had left in my vehicle. I was out working rideshare until 3am that same morning and had given him a ride around midnight. Let’s just say that he was pretty drunk and stumbling in and out of my car.

I heard the rider drop something, but he must have kicked it under the seat shortly thereafter. Because I didn’t see anything when I looked back as he was exiting the car. But I would have immediately seen his phone if I had better lighting. And avoided this rider showing up to my house at 6am when I was still sleeping after a hard-night’s work.

Nevertheless, I’m aware that returning lost items to riders is part of the gig. And no matter what mitigating precautions I take, riders will continue leaving items behind. But the next time you step out of your rideshare vehicle, take a moment and double-check your belongings. Because you never know - your forgotten item just might become part of an intriguing tale that I get to share with the world.