The Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security vowed to overhaul the courier and food delivery sectors to improve traffic safety at a video conference with the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on March 26.

According to a new management regulation on couriers' and delivery drivers' use of e-bikes unveiled at the meeting, serious traffic violations, such as running red lights, going in the wrong direction and occupying the motorway, will be severely punished. Those who are responsible for traffic accidents or repeatedly break traffic rules will be banned from working in the courier and food delivery sectors.

According to statistics recently published by Shanghai traffic police, there were 117 traffic accidents involving couriers and food delivery drivers in the city in 2017, which caused nine deaths and over 100 injuries.

Violation of traffic rules such as using mobile phones while riding an e-bike is common among couriers and food delivery drivers, which endangers their safety as well as others.

Although it appears that the prevalent transgression of traffic rules among couriers and food delivery drivers results from their lack of awareness of safety, as a matter of fact, courier and food delivery companies are also to blame. They often have evaluation systems which prioritize the speed of delivery in order to make more profits and improve user experience, pushing couriers and food delivery drivers to shorten their time between deliveries.

Therefore, courier and food delivery companies should put less emphasis on speed and enhance safety awareness education for their employees. 

(This is an edited excerpt of an article published in Beijing Youth Daily on March 28)