Workshop discusses ways to deal with accidents involving delivery riders

A workshop organised by the General Directorate of Traffic on Monday discussed the roles and tasks of various stakeholders in addressing the issue of motorcycle accidents involving delivery riders.The workshop, held at the Traffic headquarters in Madinat Khalifa, was organised within the framework of the efforts made by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to achieve road safety and security, and to reduce the rates of traffic accidents, deaths and severe injuries. It was aimed at providing recommendations and suggestions to contribute to the development of legislation and technical and operational standards that contribute to achieving the highest standards of safety in order to protect lives. Brigadier Dr Mohamed Radi al-Hajri, director of the Traffic Awareness Department, noted that co-operation and joint work between all relevant authorities is important when it comes to reducing motorcycle accidents. The official said an increase in delivery requests is resulting in accidents, which happen almost every day. He said that the workshop is the extension of the continuous efforts undertaken by the General Directorate of Traffic on the best practices and applications in order to achieve the safety of all motorists.The workshop was attended by officials from a number of organisations, including Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar University and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), in addition to representatives of delivery companies. The workshop was told that the Hamad Trauma Centre, during the first five months of this year, witnessed an increase of around three times in the number of serious motorcycle accident injuries compared to the same period in 2021. The centre provided care to 93 cases of motorcycle delivery drivers with serious injuries in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 29 cases during the same period in 2021. According to figures available with HTC, the current year has so far recorded more than 140 injuries due to motorcycle accidents.