Training delivery riders can reduce accidents

THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY and the Ministry of Transport, together with five other ministries, have launched a national traffic safety activity that will last until the end of December. As part of this, they have asked fast food delivery companies to train their delivery riders. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Reports show that the fast food delivery companies involved are required to teach their delivery riders the road safety code and buy crash helmets for them. This hits the nail on the head.

Over the past several years, fast food deliveries have increased remarkably. However, this has been accompanied by a growing number of fast food delivery riders breaking the traffic rules so they can deliver orders quickly, which threatens the safety of themselves and others.

The majority of fast food deliverymen choose electric bicycles for their transportation, and if they hit a pedestrian they can cause injuries, even death.

That problem has long aroused attention. In September, the Ministry of Public Security called on fast food delivery riders to more strictly follow traffic rules. On Oct 29, it posted a video clip on its official micro blog, showing dozens of accidents caused by fast food delivery riders breaking the traffic rules.

This time, with the cooperation of the other ministries and the fast food companies themselves, the problem will hopefully be solved. Actually, Meituan, a leading fast food delivery company, founded a safety center in August and hired 30 former policemen to teach its delivery staff the road safety code. With that, the number of accidents its delivery riders were involved in fell by more than 50 percent in October compared with July.

In order to totally root out the problem, two more measures need to be taken. First, electric bicycles need a clearer definition of the law and must be given proper road rights, so that fast food delivery riders better know how to follow the rules. Second, many fast food delivery riders break the rules because they hope to deliver more orders and so earn more money. It is time to better regulate the industry so that they won't break rules for that purpose.