China is now known for its speedy food delivery, but the convenience has come at a cost for one such customer and the company, when a driver for lesser-known delivery service, Dian Wo Da, ran a pedestrian over, causing her right eye to rupture and requiring her to undergo emergency dental extraction, among other injuries.
A Dian Wo Da delivery man was traveling from north to south in Ningbo city, in neighbouring Zhejiang province, when he sped into the woman, identified as Ms. Liu, on Xinximen Lu. Traffic police have agreed the food delivery driver is fully responsible for the accident. The woman faces a rocky road ahead, however, as the delivery service is taking full advantage of its insurance policy and is refusing to pay for any of her medical expenses, despite her extensive injuries and backing from the authorities.
Despite surgeons’ best efforts, the victim’s eye was deemed too shattered to repair without leaving a large scar. The woman’s face remains swollen and both of her knees are skinned, leaving her at serious risk of infection. Liu, a new mother, was breast-feeding before the accident, but as medical staff have put her on a series of medication, she is no longer able to do so, adding to the family’s financial burden and requiring them to purchase powdered milk. Neither the insurance company nor the delivery company have contacted the victim or her family at time of writing, according to Sina News.
Last year, there were an estimated 76 combined injuries and deaths involving food delivery drivers in Shanghai. The city’s police have also reported that the two largest food delivery services, Dianping and Eleme, were responsible for a quarter of all traffic incidents across the city. According to Reuters News, the first six months of 2017 saw 3,000 accidents involving food delivery drivers in Nanjing, 90 percent of whom were deemed to be at fault by local police.
Some companies, such as Meituan, have started to require safety training for drivers. However, the rush for quick restaurant-to-door delivery continues to pose the problem of speed over safety across China.
This is but the latest of cases involving the digital delivery revolution; in the last 2 weeks alone, a courier delivery man has been sued for over half a million RMB for attacking a customer, and a Didi driver has committed suicide after the rape and murder of a passenger.
