No easy delivery for these speed demons

stress

orthopaedic surgeon

Hardikar Hospital

Pradhan

Sancheti Hospital

food industry

Kiran Kharat

Ruby Hall

Sanjay Kolte

trauma surgeon

Domino

rush

Pankaj Wagh

Ranjit Paliath

The next time you demand your breakfast in 29 minutes or a stack of pizza within half an hour, spare a thought for the harried delivery boy, who is juggling two anxieties simultaneously — reaching the goods within the stipulated deadline and theof wending his way through the city’s burgeoning and chaotic traffic. Doctors in the city have noted a sharp rise — between 30 and 40 per cent — in the number of delivery boys meeting with road accidents while on the job, over the last two years.In recent times, Dr S M Hardikar, director and chiefat, has observed at least 10 cases of delivery boys wheeled into his hospital by an ambulance or pedestrians every month. A few years ago, this figure rested at a negligible two. “This trend shows the risky behaviour of the delivery staff who are not only vulnerable to injuries but also death,” said Dr Hardikar.Echoing his colleague’s sentiment, Dr Chetan, head of the trauma unit and associate medical director,, put it down to stiff competition in theand the struggle to please customers. “Many of them are even known to have lost their lives, rushing to meet the ‘set time’,” said Dr Pradhan. And given the sharp rise in the numbers, Dr, orthopaedic surgeon,, feels that it is high time that policies are revisited in the present scenario. “The authorities should figure out ways to combat this instead of putting the lives of the boys, who are in a productive age, at risk,” said Dr Kharat.The accidents, noted all the leading specialists, occur either in the mornings or evenings – both the times when traffic flow along most arterial roads are crammed with vehicular population. “The boys have no option but to break traffic rules or drive crazily to reach their destination. Many of my patients have confessed to breaking traffic rules and taking sharp twists and turns. There are ways to put an end to this trend, if only companies of these food delivery products renegotiate the time for delivery,” said Dr, Sahyadri Hospital.A 20-year-old delivery boy from’s Pizza, on FC Road, who did not wish to be named, said that in the last 10 months that he has been on the job at the outlet, he has already met with two accidents. “Fortunately, they were minor and I managed to escape death. We have to, given the stress of making it on time,” said he.A 30-year-old delivery boy, who works at the J MRoad outlet of McDonald’s, admitted to having met with accidents almost eight times in the last one year, while on the job. He said, “Through these accidents, my hip joint has been affected and my legs still hurt, despite my treatments at Sancheti Hospital.” Long wait at signals, increasing traffic and the rush to make it within the shortest time allotted to them, causes much stress to most of them. “There has been an increase in the number of two-wheelers on roads and people are also known to drive haphazardly. This propels us to cut lanes and take short-cuts which often cost us,” he said. Monsoons, according to him, are the most trying times.While the deputy manager, western region, for Domino’s Pizza,, “refused to comment on the issue”, in a statement sent to Pune Mirror, the vice president of McDonald’s (West and South), chose to emphasise the company’s mandate on the value of delivery in 29 minutes, rather than the changing dynamics on the roads and how this was affecting the delivery boys. “We ensure that the distance from the outlet to the place of delivery can be covered in just seven minutes, to make the 29-minute delivery an easy option. The delivery team has laid down stringent guidelines to ensure that traffic rules are not compromised and the safety and well-being of the employees an outmost priority,” said Paliath. Given the present numbers, a single drive at peak hours with a delivery boy that the company puts on the road, would reinforce the notion as a myth.There has been an increase in the number of two-wheelers on roads and people are also known to drive haphazardly. This propels us to cut lanes and take short-cuts, which cost us