Turo, a popular peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, is reeling from a devastating week that saw two individuals rent cars on its platform and use them to commit heinous crimes. The incidents have raised serious concerns about the company's safety measures and its ability to prevent such tragedies in the future.

In the first incident, a military veteran rented a Ford F-150 Lightning on Turo and drove it into a crowd of people, killing at least 15 individuals. In a separate incident, an active-duty Green Beret rented a Tesla Cybertruck on the platform, parked it in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and allegedly blew it up, resulting in his own death by suicide.

Turo's CEO, Andre Haddad, expressed outrage and shock at the events, stating that the company is working "around the clock" to determine how its platform could have been misused in such a manner. However, the incidents have sparked questions about the efficacy of Turo's safety measures, particularly its "proprietary multi-layer, data-science-based trust and safety algorithm" known as the Turo Risk Score.

The Turo Risk Score is touted as a robust system that screens renters through 50 internal and external data sources. However, the company has not provided clarity on whether it performs traditional criminal background checks, leading to concerns about the thoroughness of its vetting process. This lack of transparency has been compounded by past controversies, including instances of cars on the platform being used for human and drug trafficking.

Notably, the two perpetrators in this week's incidents had valid driver's licenses, clean criminal backgrounds, and were decorated U.S. military servicemembers. According to Haddad, even the most stringent background checks may not have flagged these individuals as potential risks. This has led to a broader discussion about the limitations of safety measures in preventing such crimes.

Turo has emphasized its overall safety record, citing that fewer than 0.10% of its 27 million facilitated trips over 12 years have resulted in serious incidents like vehicle theft. However, the company has acknowledged the need for improvement, with Haddad announcing plans to invest in enhancing its risk score algorithm and assembling a team of former law enforcement professionals to assess future risk.

In a bid to learn from the incidents and improve its safety protocols, Turo is consulting with national security and counterterrorism experts. This move is seen as a crucial step in helping prevent similar tragedies from occurring on the platform in the future.

The incidents have significant implications for the broader sharing economy, highlighting the need for companies to continually evaluate and refine their safety measures to prevent misuse of their platforms. As Turo navigates this challenging period, its response will be closely watched by the tech industry and beyond.