The labor ministry has issued new safety guidelines for the food delivery service industry. These include provisions designed to stop companies from sending drivers out on delivery runs in dangerous weather conditions.
The move comes as the popularity of food delivery services grows in Taiwan. The volume of delivery orders tends to rise during bad weather, including during typhoons, sparking concerns about drivers’ safety.
The guidelines require companies to evaluate weather conditions and decide whether to stop deliveries.
If companies decide the level of danger is not high, they must still take certain steps to ensure drivers’ safety. These may include providing drivers’ with safer means of transportation- ordinarily, drivers deliver from scooters, which leaves them exposed to the elements. Other safety measures may include restricting deliveries to dangerous areas.
Drivers may refuse to make deliveries if they disagree with their company’s assessment, and they are protected from retaliation.
The guidelines do not include provisions for punishing violators. And since the guidelines are not laws, there have been questions about how enforceable they might be.
Still, labor ministry officials say the guidelines should not be ignored: if company negligence leads to driver deaths, judges may cite the guidelines and mete out heavier punishments for those found responsible.