Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht has stated that the company is working on training its Checkers Sixty60 delivery riders to address concerns that motorists have about their driving behaviour.
In a recent interview with eNCA, Engelbrecht said that these concerns are partly due to motorists’ driving habits, as many South Africans don’t drive defensively.
“South Africa doesn’t have a motorbike culture. I took some video footage when I travelled at the end of last year in the rest of Africa. That is a second nature in the rest of Africa,” he said.
“That’s the number one mode of transport. It’s used as a taxi and delivery vehicle, et cetera.”
He argued that the lack of motorbike culture means that South Africans are not accustomed driving defensively and sharing the roads with large numbers of bikes.
“For foreign nationals, they have a bike culture and, therefore, the cars are driving defensively. In South Africa, it’s not the case,” Engelbrecht said.
The CEO added that the company is working to improve rider habits on its end, stating that Checkers will intervene if it detects bad behaviour.
It also services motorcycles in-house now, addressing public concerns over poor maintenance.
“We’ve taken the service of the bikes in-house to make sure that they are properly maintained. We improve the brakes to heavy-duty brakes. They’ve got protective clothing,” Engelbrecht said.
Checkers Sixty60 is the largest on-demand delivery service in South Africa, making it a dominant player in a rapidly growing industry that has faced scrutiny from the public in recent years.
TopAuto and our sister publication, MyBroadband, have received multiple comments and emails from readers expressing their concerns about reckless delivery riders in South Africa.
The service currently has a rating of 1.59/5 on Hellopeter, and one-star reviews of the service have increased markedly since early December 2025.
“Your riders are worse than taxi drivers! Crossing solid white lines into oncoming traffic, passing vehicles in the shoulder lanes, speeding,” one Hello Peter review stated.
“Driving so close behind you that you can only see the helmet in your mirror. Don’t stop at stop signs, even jump robots, cut off vehicles!”
Delivery riders need formal training
Hein Jonker, founder of the Motorcycle Safety Institute of South Africa, previously said in November 2025 that he believes delivery riders need to adjust their mindset and complete professional rider training.
“The concern as an everyday road user is the disregard by some of these riders for road rules and their lack of respect towards other road users,” he said.
“My biggest concerns as a professional about how some of them ride is their ignorance of risks and the lack of foresight of the result. When we ride without conviction, the outcome can be catastrophic.”
On a more positive note, Jonker highlighted that there have been several encouraging efforts by some delivery groups to improve rider behaviour, enrolling them in training programmes.
He added that, for these efforts to have a meaningful long-term impact, companies should implement constant rider safety and risk awareness campaigns through their mobile apps.
“The brain is a muscle, and it must be nurtured and exercised continuously to be effective,” Jonker stated.
“Real change in rider behaviour comes from within — the will to change the way they think so they can change the way they ride.”
Furthermore, Jonker said that the companies contracting delivery drivers should continuously monitor their efforts, investigate incidents, and implement procedures to penalize or reward behaviour.
