We have seen or heard many delivery riders get involved in crashes and accidents on the road just to deliver customers’ items.
Delivery rider is one of the most dangerous jobs as they spend their days on the road where vehicle crashes happen everyday.
It is important for them to be able to complete their tasks without jeopardizing their safety.
As the delivery services industry grows, the accident risks and costs increase too.
Thus, let us share a few safety tips and what you need as delivery riders.
Delivery Rider’s Safety Tips
Employers can do a lot in order to provide tools and resources to ensure delivery riders’ safety, but ultimately, riders are in control.
These are a few tips that you could apply in your day-to-day job as delivery rider.
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Defensive Riding Techniques
Defensive riding is the practice consciously to reduce dangers associated with riding by anticipating dangerous situations, it can be from your own or other people’s.
There are available courses on defensive riding techniques that you could take.
These are a few that you could implement in your job:
- Familiarise yourself with the route you are taking.
- Be alert on the road and weather conditions.
- Avoid changing lanes.
- Don’t drive in other vehicle’s blind spots.
- Stay away from road rage situations.
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Keep Your Vehicle In Check
Did you know, 2% of crashes are caused by mechanical problems? Sounds low but the risk is still present.
Thus, it is vital to inspect your vehicle and make sure your vehicle is in safe working order before you get started.
Catch the issues before you hit the road by checking your tires, blinkers, headlights and brakes.
Avoid larger issues by getting recommended maintenance.
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Avoid Distractions
One of the leading causes of road accidents is due distraction while driving.
Just by taking your eyes off the road for five seconds while driving 55mph, it is equivalent to driving through a football field with your eyes closed.
Avoid these distractions:
- Don’t talk on the phone or text while riding, even at traffic lights
- Don’t search for music
- Make sure your directions are ready before you start riding
What Delivery Riders Need?
In 2020, at least 30 delivery riders died while working while another 150 met with accidents during the months of March and June.
Delivery riders tend to beat deadlines so they could earn more commissions with higher rates of pick-ups and deliveries.
This puts them in dangerous situations involving the matters of life and death.
About 40% of the Malaysian labour force (5.9 million people) works in the informal sectors including the gig economy.
Most gig workers are not covered by the existing employment-related social protection system.
In a 2020 survey by a research group, The Centre, found that 22% of 400 e-hailing and delivery drivers have no form of social safety net.
This means, they might not have health insurance, emergency savings or retirement savings.
One of the efforts in building a sustainable social protection system for informal workers like delivery riders are EPF and Socso contributions.
EPF and Socso allow workers to contribute voluntarily under their Voluntary Contribution with Retirement Incentive and Self-Employment Social Security Scheme respectively.
With the rise of demands for delivery rider, the importance of having social safety nets must be recognized.
Even though these resources are largely the employer’s responsibility, riders must also be prudent and ensure they have safety nets for later days.
Delivery With Mat Despatch
Delivery riders’ safety is not a simple matter and should not be taken lightly.
Other than the rider’s own efforts to ensure they are out of harm’s way, other agencies such as employers and the government are also responsible.
We, at Matdespatch, protect our delivery riders and drivers with our best efforts while still maintaining the quality of our services.
Numerous brands have trusted our services including Maybank, Sunway, AEON, Machines and Sunway, to name a few.
Some of the services that we offer are:
- Same Day Delivery
- Next Day Delivery
- On-Demand Delivery
- Rider Or Driver For Hire
- Mover
- Courier Agent
- Mailbox Drop
- Fleet Services
- Vehicle Shipping
- Customs Clearance
- Food Delivery Platform
What’s great about Matdespatch is that you can get our services through the Matdespatch application which you can download from Google Play Store.
If you want to become a part of the team and work with one of the best delivery services there is, come talk to us!