**5. Discussion**

Based on the responses of the 15 interviewed deliverers, the nature of their jobs leads them to commit risky riding as well as cutting corners, including violating roadtraffic rules. The violations of rules are including jumping a red traffic light, making a U-turn inappropriately, overspeeding, and not properly wearing shoes while making deliveries. Moreover, riders from the city areas such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Penang admitted that without violating such rules, they are unable to complete the orders within the demanded time.

On the other hand, the deliverers who use motorcycles to conduct tasks need to work long hours or ride long distances to earn more income. Thus, they revealed that they are suffering from musculoskeletal disorders such as back and neck pain. The riders also stated that delivering parcels or food also exposed them to the risk of COVID-19.

To summarize the findings, food and parcel delivery drivers using motorcycles face a range of occupational safety and health hazards, namely exposure to bad weather conditions (i.e., heavy rain, extremely hot weather, and thunderstorms), exposure to air pollution from other vehicles' emissions, and the risk of being hit by cars, trucks, and other vehicles on the road. Moreover, the P-Hailing riders are also threatened by ergonomic hazards such as physical strain from carrying heavy loads. In addition, they may experience fatigue and stress from working long hours and meeting tight delivery deadlines.

To be specific, present research findings revealed that food/parcel delivery riders in Malaysia face a variety of occupational health hazards, including:


Moreover, the food/parcel delivery riders who are engaged with P-hailing service providers also face various occupational safety hazards, including road-traffic accident hazards. The hazards are such as:


In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) released a guideline for the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 that must be enforced by all employers and employees in Malaysia to ensure that a safe working culture is practiced in conjunction with a safe working environment. The responsibility for ensuring safety is held by both employers and employees, with the latter needing to understand their underlying responsibilities such as adhering to safety measures as prescribed by the law, following safety and health procedures released by the company's management as well as wearing appropriate riding apparels, including personal protection equipment (PPE).

Based on present research, to improve the health and safety of food/parcel delivery riders, expanding the knowledge/awareness in terms of occupational safety and health hazards and their responsibilities to ensure their workplace safety (as well as health) is crucial. Safety training enables employees to gain knowledge related to work-related hazards and the associated risks [27–29].

Thus, occupational safety and health (OSH) issues can have a significant impact on the sustainability of a business in the food/parcel delivery industry. If the deliverers are not properly protected from all the explained hazards, it can lead to injuries and illnesses, resulting in lost productivity.
