New guidelines for the safety of delivery boys in Dubai

A number of new guidelines have been announced for motorcycles engaged in delivery service in the emirate. The new stipulations which will also ensure the safety of delivery boys will come into effect from June 6.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with the Dubai Police General HQ, Department of Economic Development (DED) and Dubai Municipality, has endorsed several specifications for delivery/courier boxes carried by motorbikes for delivering various materials.
Licensed motorbikes, which are currently in operation, will be given a grace period to adapt to the new conditions up to March 6, 2018.
Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA's Licensing Agency, said: "Meetings had taken place with representatives of the Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality and the DED to set out controls for the activity of transporting materials in boxes carried by motorbikes.
"According to data revealed by the traffic department at Dubai Police, motorbike accidents resulted in 26 fatalities in 2015 and 2016. Motor bikers were involved in 824 traffic offences in 2016, and 786 bikes were seized. Such statistics warranted the development of new standards to mitigate the hazards associated with motorbikes movement on roads," added the CEO of RTA Licensing Agency.
The RTA has developed and submitted standards to the three parties including dimensions of the rear box of the motorbike must be 50x50x50 cm maximum; the box must be firmly fixed; edges must be of circular shape; and the box must not protrude beyond the back-end of the bike to avoid the risk of misbalancing the bike.
As per the new conditions the delivery box must be fitted with interior lights on all sides, must be tightly fixed to the body of the bike leaving no space in-between, must be fixed by means of fixing nails rather than welding, and the outer body of the box must be made of plastic with no sharp edges.
"Other conditions include no co-rider is allowed with the driver, phosphoric reflector strip must be affixed to the delivery box, and identifiable information must be written on both sides of the box, which has to be readable from 20 metres away. The traffic department of the Dubai Police will set the enforcement procedures covering the monitoring and reporting of delivery bikes falling short of the set conditions. The DED will circulate these standards and stipulations to the key firms of relevance to this activity," added Bahrozyan.
"Several tasks have been agreed to by the parties concerned."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com