According to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, there have been 173 mass shootings across the United States so far in 2023. The country is now setting a record pace for mass killings this year. Overall, about 5,700 people have died in 2023 from homicides, murders or unintentional killings, according to the Archive.

Shootings and other acts of violence have some delivery service drivers worried.

Last week in Tampa, a DoorDash delivery driver was kidnapped and raped, according to police.

Two incidents last week made headlines nationwide involving young people who were shot after they were alleged to have mistakenly shown up in the wrong places. In Kansas City, Missouri a teen was shot twice, in the head and arm, after allegedly going to the wrong home to pick up his younger brothers. And in Washington County, New York a man was arrested and charged with shooting and killing a 20-year-old female passenger in a car that reportedly made a wrong turn in his driveway.

One Door Dash driver says he is now rethinking his job.

In Rochester, Cody Ripley started as a driver for DoorDash when he graduated from high school about a year and a half ago. He says since his transition into college, he's enjoyed choosing the hours he wants to work. 

"[The] tips are really good on the weekends and stuff, and late at night when people are ordering and they can’t drive themselves,” Ripley said. 

He says the job has also been a great way for him to make some quick cash. 

"In about an hour, four orders [are] like around $75 probably,” he said. "It’s kind of set a good example for what I could be making and could be doing with just making my own schedule and driving for DoorDash rather than like a regular 9 to 5 job.” 

But after learning of several violent incidents involving people mistakenly pulling into someone else's property, Ripley says he fears for his safety as a DoorDasher because he says every delivery driver gets lost and pulls into the wrong house's driveway frequently.

"You could be like a house over and it’s scary hearing that people are acting violently because that kind of fear shouldn’t be instilled in people that are just trying to make money,” he said. “It’s scary, not knowing and going to a place where you haven’t been before. And going on people’s property and sometimes on the map. It can be hard to tell which house is where.” 

Going forward, he's rearranging the hours he typically works to make sure he feels safe on the job, even though it might mean less money for him. 

"I’ll take like caution now that I know the dangers and stuff,” he said. “So I’ll probably stick to dashing in neighborhoods that I know and probably only dash during daylight hours. So it’s a little safer.” 

Ripley is hoping DoorDash can adapt its services to the risks on the roads by adding new features to promote driver safety. 

“Hopefully they come up with maybe a function in the app that could better help you find like addresses that are more like rural, or better pinpoint the location of the houses so that you don’t end up in the wrong spot,” he said.

Ripley says he will continue to DoorDash while he feels comfortable.