•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Background: The number of food delivery motorbike riders has increased with the growth of the food delivery industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of this job may have an impact on riders’ stress, increasing the risk of road accidents. The purpose of this paper is to investigate stress- and work-related accidents among food delivery motorbike riders in Chiang Mai as well as the factors associated with road accidents during delivery.

Method: We used a self-administered questionnaire in a cross-sectional study between November 2021 and March 2022. A total of 253 food delivery riders in Chiang Mai were recruited for the study using convenience sampling. The data was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.

Results: The study revealed that the majority of the subjects had a moderate level of stress (39.9%). In addition, 50 food delivery riders (19.8%) had experienced motorcycle accidents while delivering food in the previous year. Most of them (86.0%) involved minor untreated injuries. Factors associated with motorcycle accidents while delivering food were working more than 8 hours per day (Odds ratio = 2.09, 95%CI = 1.04 - 4.18) and a severely high level of stress (Odds ratio = 6.14, 95%CI = 1.70 - 22.18).

Conclusion: The findings could be useful for relevant agencies and organizations in considering safety at work, such as having appropriate working hours and stress prevention to reduce the risk of motorcycle accidents among food delivery riders.

Keywords: Stress, Motorcycle accidents, Food delivery riders, Thailand

References

[1] World Health Organization [WHO]. Global status report on road safety 2018. Geneva: WHO; 2018. [cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684.

[2] Suphanchaimat R, Sornsrivichai V, Limwattananon S, Thammawijaya P. Economic development and road traffic injuries and fatalities in Thailand: an application of spatial panel data analysis, 2012-2016. BMC Public Health. 2019 Nov 4;19(1):1449. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7809-7.

[3] German CA, Soontornmon K, Singkham P, Tanasugarn L, Thienmongkol R, Weeranakin N, et al. A Systematic Review on Epidemiology and Promotion of Motorcycle Helmet Use in Thailand. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2019 Jul;31(5):384-395. doi: 10.1177/1010539519860733.

[4] Gavilan D, Balderas-Cejudo A, Fernández-Lores S, Martinez-Navarro G. Innovation in online food delivery: Learnings from COVID-19. Int J Gastron Food Sci. 2021 Jul;24:100330. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2021.100330.

[5] Choi SJ, Kim MJ, Myung J, Hong JY, Chung HS, Chung SP, Lee JH. Characteristics of crashes and injuries on delivery motorcycles: A retrospective cohort study. Traffic Inj Prev. 2022;23(3):146-151. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2022.2030056.

[6] 6. Thailand, Kasikorn Research Center. Food delivery businesses set to expand due to intensifying competition post-COVID-19; while big operators set sight on shaping their platforms into ‘Super Applications’. Bangkok: Kasikorn Research Center; 2020. [cited 2023 Jan 18] Available from: https://www.kasikornresearch.com/en/analysis/k-econ/business/Pages/z3128-Food-Delivery.aspx. (

[7] Li C, Mirosa M, Bremer P. Review of Online Food Delivery Platforms and their Impacts on Sustainability. Sustainability. 2020;12(14):5528 [cited 2023 Jan 18] . Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5528.

[8] Nguyen MH, Nguyen-Phuoc DQ, Oviedo-Trespalacios O. Non-fatal traffic crashes among food delivery riders in Vietnam: What is the problem? Traffic Inj Prev. 2023;24(8):686-692. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2023.2238862.

[9] Taylor AH, Dorn L. Stress, fatigue, health, and risk of road traffic accidents among professional drivers: the contribution of physical inactivity. Annu Rev Public Health. 2006;27:371-91. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102117.

[10] Katrodia A. Job Stress and Insecurity Among the Employees in Food Delivery Services. WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development. 2020; 16: 708-717. DOI: 10.37394/232015.2020.16.73

[11] Zheng Y, Ma Y, Guo L, Cheng J, Zhang Y. Crash Involvement and Risky Riding Behaviors among Delivery Riders in China: The Role of Working Conditions. Transportation Research Record. 2019;2673(4):1011-22.

[12] Rusli R, Mohammad MZ, Azreena Kamaluddin N, Bakar H, Hafzi Md Isa M. A comparison of characteristics between food delivery riders with and without traffic crash experience during delivery in Malaysia. Case Stud Transp Policy. 2022 Dec;10(4):2244-2250. doi: 10.1016/j.cstp.2022.10.006.

[13] da Silva DW, de Andrade SM, Soares DF, Mathias TA, Matsuo T, de Souza RK. Factors associated with road accidents among Brazilian motorcycle couriers. ScientificWorldJournal. 2012;2012:605480. doi: 10.1100/2012/605480.

[14] Mahatnirunkul S, Pumpaisalchai W, Tapanya P. The Construction of Suan Prung stress test for the Thai population. J Suanprung Psychiatric Hosp. 1997;13(3):1-20.

[15] Ge Y, Qu W, Jiang C, Du F, Sun X, Zhang K. The effect of stress and personality on dangerous driving behavior among Chinese drivers. Accid Anal Prev. 2014 Dec;73:34-40. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.024.

[16] Nguyen-Phuoc DQ, Nguyen LNT, Diep Ngoc S , Nguyen MH, Oviedo-Trespalacios O, Deadly meals: The influence of personal and job factors on burnout and risky riding behaviours of food delivery motorcyclists. Safety Science. 2023;159:106007. [cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.106007

[17] Schneiderman N, Ironson G, Siegel SD. Stress and health: psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005;1:607-28. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141.

[18] Salleh MR. Life event, stress and illness. Malays J Med Sci. 2008 Oct;15(4):9-18.

[19] Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A. The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI J. 2017 Jul 21;16:1057-1072. doi: 10.17179/excli2017-480.

[20] Montoro L, Useche S, Alonso F, Cendales B. Work Environment, Stress, and Driving Anger: A Structural Equation Model for Predicting Traffic Sanctions of Public Transport Drivers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Mar 12;15(3):497. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15030497.

[21] Rowden P, Matthews G, Watson B, Biggs H. The relative impact of work-related stress, life stress and driving environment stress on driving outcomes. Accid Anal Prev. 2011 Jul;43(4):1332-40. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2011.02.004.

[22] Zehra SB, Fatima D, Haider AF, Ali M. Prevalence of Psychosocial and Behavioral Aspects in Victims of Motorcycle Accidents in Civil Hospital, Karachi. Cureus. 2019 Apr 16;11(4):e4473. doi: 10.7759/cureus.4473.

[23] Chen T, Tian D, Deng P, Zhou E, Huang J. Study on Instant Delivery Service Riders' Safety and Health by the Effects of Labour Intensity in China: A Mediation Analysis. Front Public Health. 2022 Jun 23;10:907474. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.907474.

[24] Moore S, Newsome K. Paying for Free Delivery: Dependent Self-Employment as a Measure of Precarity in Parcel Delivery. Work, Employment and Society. 2018;32(3):475-92. [cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018755664

[25] Shaker RH, Eldesouky RSh, Hasan OM, Bayomy H. Motorcycle crashes: attitudes of the motorcyclists regarding riders' experience and safety measures. J Community Health. 2014 Dec;39(6):1222-30. doi: 10.1007/s10900-014-9883-1

Download

Share

COinS