Dubai issues new rules for delivery bikes

Dubai - Licensed motorbikes, which are currently in operation, will be given a grace period to adapt to the new conditions up to 6 March 2018.

A Staff Reporter

Published: Mon 20 Mar 2017, 1:50 PM

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with the Dubai Police General HQ, Department of Economic Development (DED) and Dubai Municipality, has introduced several new rules for delivery motorbikes.
The rigid set of rules aims to make the delivery motorbikes safer by introducing several guidelines that all delivery bikes are required to follow.
These stipulations will enter into effect from June 6 this year. Licensed motorbikes, which are currently in operation, will be given a grace period to adapt to the new conditions up to 6 March 2018.
Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA's Licensing Agency, said, "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 rear of the bike to avoid the risk of losing balance in the bike. These stipulations will enter into effect starting from June 6, 2017. Licensed bikes currently in service will be offered a grace period to adapt to the new conditions before March 6, 2018.
"These conditions include: 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 other 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 meters away," added Bahrozyan.
"Several tasks have been agreed to by the parties concerned. 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 Municipality will develop the technical specifications of the interiors of delivery boxes of foodstuffs, circulate them to contracted service centers and issue annual permits in respect of these boxes. The DED will circulate these standards & stipulations to the key firms of relevance to this activity.
"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.