Traffic Department working on how to reduce delivery bike accidents: Official

Doha: The General Directorate of Traffic (GDT) has held a workshop on how to reduce delivery bike accidents in the country, Colonel Jaber Mohamed Rashid Odaiba, Assistant Director of the Media and Traffic Awareness Department, has said.

Speaking on Qatar Radio on Monday, Col. Odaiba noted that it is no secret that the number of delivery bikes has increased, which is good for the economy, but their accidents have also increased in recent periods, according to statistics, hence the need for the workshop to find out the reasons and to proffer solutions to the problem. 

Based on observations and previous workshops by the Traffic Department and Hamad Medical Corporation, among the main reasons for these accidents is the focus on the phone while driving as they use mobile apps for finding the delivery location.

Col. Odaiba said that the number of motorcycle delivery drivers (MDDs) with serious injuries treated by the Hamad Trauma Center (HTC) in the first quarter of 2022 has already tripled the number treated in the same period in 2021.

"The center has 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," he noted.

He added that the Trauma Anesthesia Section of HMC has also observed a significant increase in the number of operations to address brain injuries, fractures, and even amputations.