Re: Villains all!
Let me quote from the very article you offered as evidence of Uber having a worse record than regulated taxis: "But there’s little to suggest that the newest form of ridesharing is significantly riskier than the old one."
It's quite a well-balanced piece actually, far more than your inflammatory quote would suggest.
Look - no one forces you, or anyone else, to ride with Uber or drive for them. Any argument that government needs to step in to stop people from doing either is inherently invalid because of this.