Many of us have gleefully indulged in free pizzas after the delivery staff has failed to show up in time. While we may brag about it in front of friends, little do we know the amount of risks the staff takes to ensure they’re at our door within the promised time.
In fact, so stressed out are they to ensure the orders are handed over on time, that they end up risking their lives by driving fast.
The pizza delivery boys end up risking their lives to ensure the order is handed over in time. Image for representational purpose only.
As a result, more and more cases of head and orthopaedic injuries among food delivery personnel are being reported in trauma units in hospitals in New Delhi, reports The Indian Express.
“There are days when I drive 10 hours. On Friday nights, we work for 14 hours. If I miss a delivery or don’t reach office within 20-30 minutes of delivering one order, I am scolded publicly. How can we drive safely? Small accidents are common,” a 21-year-old, employed with a pizza chain store in Greater Kailash, is quoted as saying.
He is admitted at the AIIMS Trauma Centre with fractures in his right thigh bone and knee cap, and a gaping open wound, after his delivery bike was hit by an Alto car while he was returning from an “assignment”.
Delivery boys say small accidents occur everyday with someone or the other suffering a fractured arm or leg.
Unfortunately, there are no records of the number of accident cases involving delivery staff, but most hospitals claim they are among the “most common accident victims” in the emergency unit, the report adds.
While the AIIMS Trauma Centre receives four-five cases every month, at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, about four to five percent of the patients are food delivery boys and the numbers increase during weekends.
“Since they drive two-wheelers, head and limb injuries are common,” Dr Sunil Saxena, Head of Emergency Medical Services at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, is quoted as saying.