At approximately 17h20 tonight, Sunday 14 October 2007, Netcare 911 paramedics responded to a report of a serious accident on the N12 close to the N1 split south of Johannesburg.
Paramedics arrived on scene to find that a minibus taxi that was travelling from Lenasia towards Johannesburg collided with the armco barrier next to the fast lane, the the taxi went over the barrier and rolled a few meters down the embankment landing on the grassy island between the traffic flowing in opposing directions on the N12. It seems that there were 13 people in the taxi at the time. One elderly grey haired female died at the scene and her body lay under the damaged armco barrier. Paramedics attended to 12 other victims including the driver, most had sustained serious injuries and several had suffered multiple bone fractures. Many of the victims had been ejected from the vehicle.The victims were stabilised by paramedics on the scene before being transported by ambulances to hospital.
The roads were wet at the time of the incident and it is suspected that this was one of the contributing factors.
This incident was attended to by paramedics from the provincial and private ambulance services, fire department, Metro Police and the Metro Polices specialist Accident Investigation Unit. Traffic travelling in both directions was severely affected for at least an hour while emergency personnel attended to the scene.
Motorists are urged to travel at a safe and appropriate speed during the stormy weather.
The highway speed limit of 120km/h during a heavy rain storm is not necessarily a safe travelling speed as it takes an average car travelling at 100km/h about 90 meters to stop on a wet road. The same car will stop in about 70 meters on a dry road. Overloaded vehicles and heavy trucks will require a longer stopping distance.
[ Information provided by Netcare 911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog]
NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911
Good Day
I am from the Marketing department at Smartcall Insurance Administrators.
we would like to know if you would be able to let us use photographs of vehicles such as taxi’s that were in accidents. we need them to advertise our accidental death cover. we would like to use the Arrive Alive logo also on our advert.
Please contact
Melinda van Rooyen
MelindaV@smartcall.co.za – 011 507 4777