Road Safety 2024: Delivery riders navigate challenges as demand for fast food surges

The rise of online shopping has transformed global traffic demographics, with UAE food deliveries alone expected to be worth $1.12 billion in 2024.

This shift in consumer habits has prompted an increase in the number motorcycle delivery riders navigating the nation's roads.

The expanded fleet are exposed to the risk of high-speed collisions and the sometimes challenging driving conditions on the highways of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Delivery rider Mohammad Thausif Kaiyoor, from India, delivers vital medicines around Sharjah.

He was lucky to survive a collision with two other vehicles in January, at around 10pm, a critical time for delivery riders when visibility is reduced and smaller motorcycles can be difficult to see.

“I was wearing my helmet, gloves, elbow and knee pads when a 4x4 hit me from behind,” Mr Kaiyoor told The National.

“I crashed into another car in front of me, so my face was sandwiched between both vehicles.

“I don’t remember what happened later but I woke up in a hospital.”

Mr Kaiyoor suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Aster Hospital in Mankhool for emergency surgery.

The 36-year-old had multiple facial fractures and a deep laceration to his left thigh. He was also bleeding heavily from his nose and mouth and was unable to see.

“I knew I had survived death, but it was a very hard time for me,” said Mr Kaiyoor.

“It was a very bad accident, and all these months later I’m still recovering.”

Facial reconstruction

Thanks to the rapid response of the emergency medical team and the expertise of specialists, surgeons were able to rebuild Mr Kaiyoor's face in a 12-hour operation.

Dr Renju Prem, a specialist oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Aster Hospital, said most of the bones in the patient’s face had been broken.

“It was a rare case and presented significant challenges due to the severity of his injuries, including pan-facial fractures and a deep, lacerated wound,” he said.

The surgical intervention included multiple reconstructions of the facial skeleton and repairing fractures in the upper and lower jaws.

Despite the surgical expertise, Mr Kaiyoor cannot bite or chew his food properly.

“Pan-facial fractures account for around 10 per cent of all facial fractures, and present a reconstructive challenge due to their complex nature, often caused by high-energy incidents like motor vehicle accidents,” said Dr Prem.

“He has had a miracle recovery.”

Risky business

While long-term data on motorcycle deaths in the UAE is scarce, the Eastern Mediterranean Region – which includes the UAE – reported that 10 per cent of all road traffic deaths involved motorcycles in 2010.

Road Safety UAE analysed data from the Ministry of Interior to understand which vehicles were most commonly involved in accidents in 2023.

Light vehicles constituted 66 per cent of all accidents, accounting for 2,916 of 4,391 collisions, while motorcycles made up 18 per cent of the total, or 783 accidents.

Of the accidents recorded in 2023, there were 42 deaths involving motorcycle riders, and 1,020 recorded injuries, according to the Ministry of Interior.

“The vulnerable segment of motorcycle riders and micro-mobility riders of bicycles, electric bikes and scooters is over represented in these victims’ statistics,” said Thomas Edelmann, managing director of Road Safety UAE.

Safety drive

Police have previously stressed the need for riders to abide by traffic rules, given they face increased risks when compared with vehicles of much greater size which afford greater protection to users.

In 2022, a safety campaign was launched by Dubai Police and the Roads and Transport Authority which required delivery riders to complete longer and more varied training to obtain a licence.

The force said common offences by riders were overtaking from the hard shoulder, sudden swerving, incorrect parking, parking on the pavement and failure to stay in mandatory lanes.

Delivery riders in Dubai were banned from the left lane - commonly referred to as the fast or overtaking lane - in 2021.

Delivery riders in Dubai must be employed by a company and be aged between 21 and 55.

The Roads and Transport Authority also stipulates the rider must have a valid motorcycle licence and have met all requirements and training of the Driving Institutes in Dubai.

In May 2023, a scheme offering free health checks to delivery riders in Dubai was set up in an effort to cut the number of accidents caused on the roads as a result of poor health and fatigue.

Delivery riders also have access to 6,000 rest stations across the UAE during the annual three-month midday break, which began on June 15. It aims to support riders working during the intense summer heat.

Electric solution?

Adam Ridgway is founder and chief executive of One Moto, specialising in electric delivery vehicles, and a member of the RTA steering committee on road safety for delivery riders.

“Far too many accidents happen late at night, which surprises me as there are fewer deliveries then,” he said.

“Some riding schools don't offer sufficient levels of training compared to other markets.”

According to the RTA there are 92,000 commercial bikes registered in Dubai, with 124,000 registered in the UAE.

Multiple delivery firms operate in the UAE, with some employing more than a thousand riders.

Mr Ridgway said more electric delivery bikes would make the industry more efficient, profitable and safer.

“There are more bikes on the road, but the biggest issue is companies don't optimise their fleet,” he said.

“You can't really do that with petrol bikes as you need to retrofit telematics to gather this valuable data and no one wants to pay extra for this.

“With our electric bikes it’s included, we improve delivery efficiency from 0.9 to 3.2 deliveries an hour, reducing the amount of hours on the road, decreasing the working pressure and increasing delivery volumes."

Drone deliveries

Aramex is a delivery firm looking at the potential to take conventional delivery vehicles like bikes and vans off the roads, replacing them with aerial drops from automated drones.

Angad Singh, global director of innovation at Aramex, said electric drone deliveries have the potential to cut traffic, road accidents and pollution.

“We have an array of modes of delivery, from vans, bikes, scooters as well as walking couriers,” he said.

“Drone deliveries will definitely bring down traffic, as delivery riders for food and logistics are in the top three traffic contributors, and also for carbon emissions.

“With time, this will become the norm, as we have already seen infrastructure develop in some countries to allow this to happen in some areas of North America, Southeast Asia and in Oman.”

The technology is going through regulatory approvals across the world.

Residents in Dallas, Texas, are due to benefit from drone deliveries of small packages direct to homes after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared companies Wing and Zipline International to fly simultaneously over suburban areas.

Deliveries in the area are due to begin in August.

The technology could take some delivery bikes off the roads in the UAE, Mr Singh said.

“In the future it could be much easier for us to use drones with a large cargo payload where customers can come and collect the shipment from a central point,” he said.

“It would reduce traffic, not only from a last mile delivery perspective, but also a customer movement perspective.

“Sound pollution is a concern as the drones are similar in size and noise to a helicopter, so they are quite noisy, and carry a payload of up to two tonnes.

“The new generation of cargo drones are creating solutions to address these concerns, so we should see them become more common in the GCC within the next three to five years.

“Then we will see more used for last mile delivery, so for pizzas, coffee and pharmaceuticals, for example, if infrastructure allows.”