Riding Hazards and Crash Risks Facing Malaysian Courier Riders in the Last Mile Delivery

Abstract

This study aims to determine the types of hazards and crash risks facing courier riders during delivery trips by recording the riding scenarios on their actual delivery route. A digital camera and a hands-free camera harness were used to hold the camera at the chest level to record the riding scenarios. Fifteen courier riders in the Klang Valley, Malaysia participated in the study. The final analysis reveals that a courier rider encounters 30 hazardous riding events and 5 near misses on average for each hour of delivery trips. Two-thirds of all hazardous riding events were instigated by road users, including the participants themselves. Interestingly, the participants' own riding behaviours contributed to almost a third (29%) of the total near misses. Obstruction of view was found to increase the odds of causing a near miss by 4.61 times compared to hazards related to driving behaviours of other motorists. Further, incidents related to lane changing or overtaking manoeuvres were found to have 7.81 times higher odds of causing a near miss compared to incidents related to braking or sudden stopping. The classification of hazards and risk assessment presented in this study should be seriously considered for better operation management and defensive driving training.