Tough balancing act: The presence of large vehicles on urban roads poses a high risk to riders’ safety, as motorcycles offer no structural protection against the impact of such vehicles, leaving riders vulnerable to severe injuries or even death. — AZHAR MAHFOF/ The Star
PETALING JAYA: While we all want our food to be delivered hot and quickly to our homes, the short delivery deadlines of these orders are putting severe strain on p-hailing riders, who allegedly violate traffic laws to make it on time, say representatives of delivery groups.
Malaysia E-Hailing Drivers Association president Daryl Chong said riders face the highest risk of getting involved in an accident due to the need to make quick deliveries.
“Many riders are under pressure to meet delivery deadlines, which is usually within an hour, leading to behaviours like speeding, weaving through traffic dangerously and ignoring road rules.
“Combined with the lack of mandatory proper safety training by their gig employers, this leads to some even disregarding common safety measures like wearing helmets,” he said.
Chong also said that the popularity of p-hailing services combined with low fare rates per ride have also led to many riders taking excessive and irregular shifts.
He called on p-hailing service providers to set realistic delivery deadlines for riders as well as provide them the necessary equipment, training and incentives to stay safe on the road.
“The delivery times must be realistic and should take into account key factors such as reported road conditions, traffic conditions and other factors combined with some realistic extra time in the case of unforeseen circumstances.
“This can be done through the use of an integrated GPS traffic monitoring system that automatically adjusts the delivery deadline in real time.
“It can then be used to see if a rider is driving safely based on his speed and other factors, through which safe driving incentives can be given,” Chong said.
Malaysian e-Hailing Association chief activist Jose Rizal said the presence of large vehicles on urban roads also posed severe risk to riders.
“Unlike cars, motorcycles offer no structural protection which exposes riders to severe injuries or fatalities in accidents that are made worse depending on the size of the other vehicle involved.
“Larger vehicles like buses and lorries are also often seen entering heavy traffic urban areas which puts motorcyclists and riders at a higher risk,” he said.
Jose said these heavy and often overloaded vehicles are also one of the reasons why urban roads have potholes that pose the greatest danger to riders.
“Potholes may only cause damage to cars, but hitting a single pothole can become a life-or-death situation for riders as it causes them to lose balance and fall.
“This is made worse if the areas with potholes have inadequate lighting or signage, which is why frequent checks and repairs by local governments must be done as often as possible,” he added.
He also called on the government to consider implementing subsidies for high quality safety gear or motorcycles equipped with safety gears, making it easier for licensed p-hailing riders to get them.
Meanwhile, foodpanda Malaysia’s director of operations Shubham Saran said the service provider started deploying a telematics system last December, which can analyse a rider’s behaviour.
He said the system provides actionable insights into safe or unsafe practices, including speed, harsh riding, braking and distraction trends.
“Improvements to road safety initiatives are being carried out to ensure that riders are better equipped to handle road safety challenges while reinforcing our commitment to their well-being,” he said in a statement to The Star.
He added that foodpanda has been working closely with PERKESO since 2022 to subsidise rider contributions for their protections.
“While this scheme remains voluntary as riders operate as independent contractors, we plan to carry out more initiatives this year to encourage broader adoption,” Shubham said, adding that the company currently has over 200,000 delivery partners.
On Tuesday, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said that almost 70% of road fatalities in Malaysia last year involved motorcyclists aged between 16 and 35.
He added that 67% or 4,014 out of 5,939 road fatalities involved motorcyclists and pillion riders as of November 2024, making them the largest contributor to road accident deaths in the country.
