A teenager died in a motorbike accident while working illegally as a food delivery driver.
Leonardo “Leo” Machado, 17, made off at “excessive speed” when Dorset police officers attempted to stop him while he waited at a red light in 2023.
The driver, who was working for Uber Eats using a rented delivery licence, lost control of his motorcycle before crashing into the railings.
An inquest at Bournemouth coroner’s court ruled that the teenager died from traumatic head and neck injuries.
In a prevention of future deaths report, Coroner Brendan Allen said there was “significant national concern” regarding the way delivery licences were regulated by the likes of Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat.
Mr Allen, area coroner for Dorset, said the lack of oversight from food delivery companies meant that under-18s could exploit the rules to earn some money, putting them at risk when on the road.
The inquest heard Mr Machado had “rented” an Uber Eats delivery licence at the time of the crash, despite being too young to obtain one himself.
On April 16 2023, Mr Machado was riding a 599cc Yamaha sports bike with an Uber Eats delivery box attached to the rear when he crashed in Poole.
The inquest heard he was not licensed to use such a motorcycle as it requires a category A driving licence, for which drivers need to be at least 21.
‘No oversight of licence rentals’
The coroner added: “There is significant national concern about the ‘rental’ of food delivery licences to under-18s.
“In general terms, food delivery platforms place age restrictions on those who can obtain a licence to deliver food.
“However, there appears to be no oversight of the rental of these licences to those under the age limit.
“This places children in a vulnerable position: lone working, often at night, riding electric or motorised scooters, mopeds or motorcycles and delivering to individuals that are not known to the drivers.”
The organisations have 56 days to respond to Mr Allen’s comments.
