Delivery riders in fear for their lives call for respect on the roads
▶ Motorcyclists say they are at the mercy of car and lorry drivers as they move food and orders around cities, reports Patrick Ryan
Motorbike delivery riders in the UAE have sharply criticised reckless motorists who they say are putting their lives at risk on a daily basis.
Workers for food-delivery companies feel they are dicing with danger every time they hit the road, with many suffering injuries in the line of duty.
In a survey conducted by campaign group RoadSafetyUAE last year, 77 per cent of delivery riders said other vehicles regularly cut in front of them, with 68 per cent believing other motorists are inconsiderate of delivery riders.
Seventeen motorcycle riders were killed and 122 accidents involving motorbikes occurred on Dubai’s roads last year, according to police.
Officers in Abu Dhabi led calls for riders to take more care on the roads after revealing that motorcycles were involved in 682 accidents in the past five years, resulting in 42 fatalities.
Last year Dubai Roads and Transport Authority introduced regulations to reduce the number of delivery motorbike accidents, including barring pillion passengers and ensuring phosphoric reflector strips were attached to bikes.
Delivery riders are a familiar sight on the roads because of the country’s takeaway culture, but many of them feel other road users make their job unnecessarily dangerous.
Riders and delivery bosses agree roads need to be made safer, whether travellers are using two wheels or four.
“I suffered a serious injury when a car driver pulled out in front of me without indicating,” said Mohammed, 28, from Pakistan, who works for one of the most popular delivery services in Dubai.
“I broke my collarbone. Often we encounter drivers who are travelling too fast and then have to brake too hard at the last minute.
“Drivers in Dubai are always going far too fast and regularly don’t even bother waiting for a light to go green before taking off at traffic lights. This makes life dangerous for me and my colleagues on the roads here.”
One company that has placed driver safety at the top of its agenda is Freedom Pizza, which has a fleet of more than 200 delivery riders in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Sajjad Ahmad, 23, a Freedom Pizza delivery rider in Dubai, said he was injured in a collision with a car. “I was driving in Dubai when I was hit in the side by another car that pulled out in front of me after making a wrong turn,” he said.
“The car was travelling at least 60kph at a roundabout and turned at the last minute, even though they were in the wrong lane. The other person got out of their car, looked at me and told me I was OK, even though I wasn’t, and drove off.
“When I am making a delivery,
I have to take extra care of myself because my family is relying on me to send money home.”
It is not just other motorists who are threats. Sometimes delivery riders feel under pressure to make a delivery on time.
“I often see delivery riders from other companies driving very dangerously in and out of lanes that they shouldn’t be going into,” said Mr Ahmad’s colleague, Diadarul Haque, 31, from Bangladesh.
Mr Haque said this was partly because other companies pay riders by the number of deliveries they make, which gives drivers more reason to speed.
All the companies The National spoke to said the safety of delivery drivers was of paramount concern for them.
“Motorcycle riders are inherently more vulnerable than other drivers on the road. They are more easily affected by adverse street conditions, inclement weather, traffic flow and high speeds,” said Anis Harb, Deliveroo general manager for
the region, who has 1,400 riders in the UAE alone.
Walid Fakih, general manager of McDonald’s in the UAE, oversees a fleet of more than 1,300 riders.
“We prefer to train drivers from scratch because we find riders who have worked for some other companies in the region often have bad habits on the road,” Mr Fakih said.
“For us, it is a case of rider safety first and customer satisfaction second.”
Damien Drap, Uber Eats’ general manager in the GCC, agreed that the safety of drivers was the priority.
“If we receive reports of any courier driving dangerously or breaking local road laws, we can take action to remove their access to the Uber Eats app.”
Ian Ohan, chief executive and founder of Freedom Pizza, who is a motorcycle enthusiast himself, said his company equipped each driver with knee, elbow, shoulder and thigh pads, as well as back protectors, to keep the risk of injuries to a minimum.
“If you are a motorcyclist and you are involved in an accident with a car or lorry, you are always going to be more hurt than they are, even if the accident is not your fault.”
He recognises the motorbike delivery service can be a highly pressurised environment, which is why he insists on reminding drivers of their obligations.
“Every driver has to say ‘I will drive safe’ before they leave to go on a delivery.”
I suffered a serious injury when a car driver pulled out in front of me without indicating. I broke my collarbone MOHAMMED Motorcycle delivery driver