No deliverance: when gig workers fall prey to road accidents
The Greater Chennai Traffic Police reported 43 accidents involving gig delivery workers in 2025, resulting in four deaths. Trade unions argue that the high-pressure, low-remuneration nature of the gig economy forces workers to take dangerous risks, though official data collection remains limited.
Why it matters
It highlights the lack of occupational safety data for gig workers and the systemic risks inherent in platform-based delivery models.
The Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) said as many as 43 accidents involving delivery personnel were recorded in the city in 2025, and four workers were killed in these accidents. Speeding, mobile phone use while driving, signal jumping, and rash driving were the main reasons for these accidents.
A senior police officer said that in Tamil Nadu, 536 people died in 2024 in such accidents, while the figure came down to 496 in 2025, marking a decline of around 40 deaths. A resource person of the Transport Department said there are no specific details on the deaths of gig workers. Union Road Transport Ministry guidelines stipulate that only the gender of the accident victim, the place and the vehicle involved be entered into the records of the State Crime Records Bureaux and not his or her profession, he said.
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