In an announcement made via a blog post published on Tuesday, ride-hailing service Uber said that it will be using the typical 'misdirection' approach to keep drunken passengers from abusing drivers.

Going by the information shared by Uber's chief security officer Joe Sullivan in the blog post, drunken passengers in the North Carolina city of Charlotte will be provided with the children's toy 'Bop It' on the back seat of the Uber car, to ensure that they remain occupied during the ride from the bar to their home.

'Bop It' is an addictive plastic toy which feature colourful knobs, buttons and levers which have to be pushed, pulled and bopped by players in a particular order. The toy essentially tests the rhythm and coordination of the players.

About the key idea behind the use of the 'Bop It' children's toy for drunken passengers, Sullivan explained in the blog post that the toy will keep the drunken passengers busy during their Uber ride. As such, Uber drivers will not have to tolerate any nonsense, threat or abuse from such passengers, who can be quite annoying at times.

With regard to Uber's move to use the archetypal 'misdirection' tactic to prevent a possible brawl between an Uber driver and a drunken passenger, Sullivan said: "Folks there have found it's a great way to keep drunk riders entertained so they don't distract their driver."