Examining risky riding behaviours among food delivery riders: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Online food delivery services have become highly popular in recent years, leading to concerns about Food Delivery Riders' (FDRs) safety, health, and welfare. Human factors are found as the primary contributing factor in approximately 94% of riders' crashes. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to conduct a comprehensive systematic review of the literature on risky riding behaviour of FDRs, with a focus on understanding the prevalence of various risky riding behaviours and their influencing factors. Studies were searched in seven databases, and after systematic screening, 57 articles were included in the final review. Findings indicate that most of these studies are geographically concentrated in Asian countries and have utilized questionnaire surveys. The following risky behaviours are consistently observed among FDRs: Violations and Errors . In particular, speeding, wrong-way riding, red-light violation, mobile phone use, tailgating, etc., are found to be dominant behaviours. Subsequently, various factors affecting risky behaviours of FDRs are examined, including (a) sociodemographic factors, (b) work-related factors, (c) attitudinal, cognitive, and psychological factors, and (d) environmental, infrastructural, and other contextual factors. Sociodemographic factors and work-related factors, including age, gender, income, job demands, job resources, service experience, daily working hours, etc., are found to have a significant impact on risky behaviours of FDRs. Importantly, this study serves as a valuable resource for researchers, highlighting existing research gaps and offering recommendations for future research to reduce risky riding behaviours among FDRs. Additionally, the findings provide actionable insights to transportation professionals toward improving the safety of FDRs. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.