Road safety situation of electric bike riders: A cross-sectional study in courier and take-out food delivery population

Abstract

Objective Almost all courier and take-out food delivery riders in China use electric bikes as the main transport mode. This study aims to understand their riding behaviors and road traffic injury information of this population. Methods A cross-sectional field study focused on this population was conducted, including roadside observation and face-to-face retrospective street intercept interviews. Results Six hundred target delivery riders were observed and 480 were interviewed. The rate of overspeeding was 91.3%, and windshield use during winter was 91.2%. Traffic violation behaviors observed included riding in the motor vehicle lane (32.8%), not waiting behind the white line at a red light (23.3%), and using cell phone when riding (21.2%). Helmet use was significantly more common during the day (73.0%) than at night (64.7%; P = .028). About 46.5% of respondents rode an e-bike more than 8 h per day. In addition, 76.5% of interviewees had been involved in a traffic crash at least once. About 13.9% of crashes happened in motor vehicle lanes and 8.2% on sidewalks. Logistic regression analysis indicated that compared with uninjured riders, injured riders showed significantly greater odds ratios of unsafe behaviors for running red lights (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75) and protective factors for wearing a helmet (OR = 0.56). Conclusions The courier and take-out food delivery population is a vulnerable occupational group and road traffic injuries related to e-bike use require more attention.