Improving safety for gig workers is crucial to everyone, says Dr Karen McDonnell, Head of Global Relations at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Over the last 10 years, drivers and riders working for gig economy digital platforms have become an increasing presence on our roads, particularly in urban areas.
Gig workers provide a wide range of services including taxis, hot food, grocery and parcel deliveries, cleaning and household repairs. What they all have in common is the way they communicate with the company they’re ‘gigging’ for and how they get paid.
Credit: Alamy Stock
All communication is carried out via an online app, including signing up for shifts, accepting ‘gigs’ and payment. Workers get paid on a task or ‘gig’ basis, most are self-employed and can choose when they work.
It is estimated that the number of people employed in the gig economy in the UK are around 1.7 million, although research commissioned by the TUC in 2021 suggested that between 2016 and 2021 the number of people working in the gig economy in England and Wales almost tripled to 4.4 million.
On most journeys your company drivers and riders take they will be sharing the road with gig economy workers, which is why ensuring these workers drive and ride safely is important to us all.
The very nature of how the gig economy operates can increase road safety risks for the people working in it and – as our roads are shared spaces – for all road users.
It is a time-pressured working environment, where services are delivered on demand and drivers and riders try to fit as many ‘drops’ into their shift as possible in order to receive adequate pay. This can mean working long hours and covering a lot of miles in all weather conditions. All of which can increase their risk of being involved in a road collision.
Research carried out by UCL Centre for Transport Studies found 42% of the 248 food/parcel couriers and taxi drivers interviewed had been involved in a collision where their vehicle had been damaged, with one in ten reporting that someone had been injured. Many said they experience near misses several times each day where they have to take action to avoid a crash.
Another study found that gig workers who use their motorcycle to deliver hot food are more likely to be in a collision where their bike is damaged or someone is injured than riders directly employed by restaurants. Gig platform delivery riders were also more likely to speed (56% versus 39%), ride through red lights (21% versus 12%), and report being distracted by their phone through which they accept ‘gigs’ (57% versus 21%). They are also nearly twice as likely to report an injury, either to themselves or someone else involved in a collision with them.
Unsafe behaviours
Understanding the demands placed on gig workers is key to addressing these unsafe behaviours which lead to increased danger for all road users. Factors include:
- Fatigue – Most delivery drivers/riders in the gig economy will work long hours, either to earn enough money or because gig work is a second job (some studies suggest that nearly of half of gig workers have a full-time job as well). As these online platforms grow and more workers sign-up, competition for ‘gigs’ can lead to drivers and riders travelling longer distances and working longer hours to earn the same pay.
- Distraction – Many feel pressured to check job alerts that are sent to the app on their phone while they are driving or riding because in many cases there is a fixed time window in which to accept the work. Often gig riders/drivers sign-up to multiple work provider apps, leading to several notifications coming in and needing to be accepted quickly.
- Speeding – Gig workers must stay within the time window for the job. A bad review from a late delivery could lead to less work, which means less pay. Also, the quicker they get a ‘gig’ done, the quicker they can move on to the next one. Nearly half of the gig drivers/rider in the UCL study admitted speeding and around a third had driven or ridden through a red light.
For the ‘gig’ work platforms these are issues they must address in order to protect the people signed-up to their platforms and to improve road safety for all road users. So what are companies such as Uber, Deliveroo and Evri doing about it?
All say the safety of the riders and drivers who use their platforms is a priority and offer free online basic road safety training through videos or written guidance. The problem is, the drivers and riders have to choose to view it themselves and – as most are self-employed – time is money and they don’t get paid for time spent watching training videos.
In recent years, Deliveroo and Evri have signed Voluntary Partnership Agreements with the GMB Union, so riders and drivers who pay to join the union will benefit from its backing on health and safety issues. Uber has partnered with the charity RoadPeace to provide a support helpline for riders and drivers who have been involved in road collisions, and with Drivetech to increase driver skills through online videos. Uber Eats has partnered with Cycling UK to increase cycling awareness and education for riders, again through online safety training videos and guides.
When surveyed gig workers themselves have put forward recommendations to improve road safety, including free safety equipment for riders (who themselves are vulnerable road users), regular paid safety training, monitoring and regulating hours worked, regular paid breaks, and the use of telematics to monitor speed and sudden braking etc, with safer drivers/riders being rewarded by the online platforms they gig for.
The gig economy is here to stay, and as more drivers and riders choose to sign-up for these platforms it is vital for all road users that road safety is taken seriously by the companies and by the riders and drivers themselves.
This eBook will guide you through some of the key understandings you need to be able to manage driver safety effectively and, at the end, provide a series of free resources you can access to help you ensure your own driver safety management system is robust, legally compliant and in line with industry-accepted good practice.
Download this eBook from Driving for Better Business and SHP to cover:
- Why do we need to manage driver safety?
- Duty of care – a shared responsibility;
- Setting the rules with a driving for work policy;
- Managing driver safety;
- Ensuring safe vehicles;
- Safe journeys and fitness to drive;
- Record keeping;
- Reporting;
- The business benefits of good practice;
- Additional resources
