Daily Dangers of a Delivery Driver

By Benjamin Turner, News Editor, The Pawprint

Delivery driving is a big part of Dubai’s urbanization, as demand for food being delivered to Dubai residents’ doors is at an all time high, especially during the recent outbreaks of Covid-19 in 2020. 

From this, many delivery drivers come in the clutch, being called on the job to be able to deliver food to hungry people. 

From the heats of the desert during the summer, many delivery drivers are put into a dangerous situation, with the possibility of injuring themselves or even getting into horrible accidents due to the complications that come with the hot weather. 

The food boxes, the commercial suits, the gloves, and motorcycle pants don’t help the drivers.

Complications include fainting, heat strokes, intense sweating, and many more, which are very dangerous as they are always on the road.

According to the National News UAE, during the pandemic 12 drivers were killed on Dubai roads during the Covid-19 lockdown. This was from the previously mentioned pressure on delivery drivers to be able to deliver food to doors at a fast time. 

This in turn forces many drivers to take dangerous turns, cuts, which makes them less focused on the road, thus putting them at risk of getting into an accident.

Police have tried to crack down on this problem, approaching delivery companies like Deliveroo and Talabat to combat the issue of having their drivers being at risk. 

They disliked the fact that drivers were carrying heavy backpacks instead of boxes attached to the car, with Police Captain Salem Al Amimi stating, “They are expected to ride motorcycles with these backpacks on their shoulders, but if the weight moves or shifts they lose control of the bike.”

Al Amimi also added, “But the companies were under huge pressure as orders were coming in 24/7. They were pushing drivers to make deliveries but they couldn’t handle it.”

Mohammed Asin, a delivery driver in Dubai was convinced to move to Dubai from Pakistan by his friend, stating “Join me, this is the dream. We can make real money. Our families can have a better life,”

Asin joined his friend, however, the day after he signed up for Deliveroo, his friend was struck by a car and died during a delivery drive.

Instances like this show that there is a major problem with companies pressuring drivers to get to their locations in a timely manner, risking their own safety to be able to get food to hungry customers.