SaferDeli – Safer driving behaviour for last-mile-delivery professionals through digital and multidisciplinary training

In modern societies, road traffic accidents remain a major societal issue. Over half of the road fatalities and injuries involve vulnerable users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Although the European Union has set ambitious goals and has indeed made progress in improving road safety and reducing traffic fatalities, there are still several important problems, namely those related to human factors and behaviour, which are particularly complex and challenging to address.

Given the good climate conditions in the Mediterranean area and the flexibility of movement, the majority of urban last mile deliveries are realized by motorbikes. At the same time, other types of vehicles, such as cargo bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, are increasingly used to support sustainability and promote micro-mobility. The use of two-wheeled vehicles makes last-mile delivery professionals vulnerable road users who unfortunately face high risks, often with fatal outcomes. Their exposure to danger is higher than other users both due to the work conditions being constantly on the street, but also due to their own driving behaviour which may deteriorate over time because of fatigue or other relevant risk factors.¹

SaferDeli project aims to alter this condition by improving delivery drivers’ road safety skills through specialized training. Recognizing the challenges of road safety education of the specific target group, SaferDeli partnership is committed to jointly develop the multidisciplinary material and platform format to properly train last-mile-delivery professionals on specific topics that
(i) are relevant to their everyday tasks,
(ii) concern them in real-life,
(iii) attract their interest. By exploiting the effective mix of digital and in-person training activities, SaferDeli will address the factors impacting road safety within this sector.