A nightmare of night driving and sharing the road with trucks!

Have you ever complained about the large numbers of trucks on our roads? Having been committed to creating awareness of road safety for the past few years I have received many of these complaints and suggestions from the public to restrict the driving hours of truck drivers.

The economical reality is that more and more freight is moved on the road and not on rail – and until our rail infrastructure is further upgraded, this tendency will continue! But is the heavy truck traffic as hectic as it is alleged? I had a trip from hell yesterday evening from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein, consisting amongst others:

- leaving Rivonia Road at 17h35 and only reaching Grasmere Toll Plaza at 19h00
- A power failure at the Engen Kroonvaal Plaza 80 kilometres north of Kroonstad
- Cash register failure at the other Kroonvaal Plaza [ having had to make a U-turn on the N1 to find a fuel station with power]

Having left Kroonvaal at 20h20 I became aware of the large number of trucks on the road and decided to count the number of trucks that I had to pass. From Ventersdorp I also counted the trucks coming from the front. These numbers tell an interesting story:

• Kroonstad to Ventersdorp [ approximately 50km]
  Passing 13 trucks
  [Not counting trucks approaching from the front]

• Ventersdorp to Winburg [ approximately 50km]
  Passing 14 trucks
  44 Trucks approaching from the front

• Winburg to Verkeerdevlei Toll Plaza [ approximately 40km]
  Passing 16 trucks
  46 Trucks approaching from the front

• Verkeerdevlei Toll Plaza to Bloemfontein [ approximately 60km]
  Passing 23 trucks
  56 Trucks approaching from the front

It is a staggering fact that between 21h00 and 22h40 I passed 66 trucks from behind on a 200km stretch of road and 146 trucks approaching from the front over a distance of 150km.

This was an excellent way of keeping myself awake and alert –but also opened my eyes to the dangers of night driving. With the kind assistance of Fleetwatch Magazine, information on sharing the road with trucks has been made available on the Arrive Alive Road Safety Website:

• Sharing the road with trucks
• Driving at night

Before you consider driving to your holiday destination at night, be aware of the dangers of night time driving as well as the need to play close attention to all the heavy vehicles on the road at night!

Road Safety and a message for motorists with diabetes

It is only appropriate on World Diabetes Day that we pay some attention to this chronic condition. Even though there are no major additional dangers posed by this disease to road users, it is important to be aware of symptoms that could have an influence on driver fitness.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a life-long condition where you have too much sugar in your blood, due to a lack of insulin. This high blood sugar level, if left untreated, can cause irreversible the damage and ultimately lead to death. The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) recently announced statistics revealing that diabetes currently affects 246 million people globally and is expected to affect 380 million people by 2025. In South Africa it is estimated that approximately one in 10 people suffers from this condition.

When establishing a link between road safety and diabetes we need to consider the possible symptoms of diabetes:

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Hunger
• Tiredness
• Blurred vision
• Dry skin or skin infections
• Nausea
• Recurring infections
• Wounds or cuts that won’t heal
• Unexplained weight loss
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet

Of these possible consequences perhaps the most important symptoms to have an effect on driver fitness are tiredness, blurred vision and tingling or numbness in hands or feet. Diabetics are however very aware of the fact that diabetes is treatable and that this condition need not provide additional dangers to their ability to drive.

How can Diabetics manage Diabetes?

• Diabetes is a treatable condition. Keep a positive attitude and take note of the changes you have to make to your lifestyle to control the disease.
• Eat a healthy diet to help keep your blood sugar in control and to maintain a healthy body weight.
• Get regular exercise to help regulate your blood sugar. It will also reduce your risk of heart disease, and help to control your weight.
• If drugs are prescribed to help keep your blood sugar in control, take them as instructed. Too little medication will make your blood sugar rise higher that usual, and too much will cause your blood sugar level to drop.
• Take good care of your feet. Diabetes affects the nerve function and blood flow to the feet, increasing your risk of infection.
• Get regular eye exams. Changes in your eyesight caused by diabetes often have no symptoms until the damage is quite advanced.

More information on Diabetes has been made available on the Arrive Alive Road Safety Website.

• Road Safety & Diabetes

The Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog would like to extend a word of best wishes to all Diabetics on this World Diabetes Day!

Light plane crashes onto N17 highway

At approximately 15h35 today, Wednesday 14 November 2007, Netcare 911 paramedics responded to a report that a small aircraft had crashed on the N17 highway close to the Carnival City Casino in Brakpan, Gauteng.

Paramedics arrived on the scene and were informed that the small aircraft had collided with overhead cables before crashing into the middle island that separates the N17 highways. Paramedics found both the victims had already exited the aircraft and they were treated for possible spinal injuries as well as lacerations and contusions. They were both extremely lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries, they were both in a stable condition and were transported by ambulance to the Netcare Sunward Park hospital for further assessment and treatment.

This incident was attended to by paramedics from the private ambulance services, provincial fire and ambulance services, traffic police, SAPS and the Ekurhuleni K9 Unit.

[ Information provided by Netcare 911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog]

NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911

Man trapped in car for nearly two hours after collision with truck

At approximately  22h25 on 13 November 2007, Netcare 911 paramedics responded to a report of a very serious collision on the R512 between the N14 and Lanseria airport outside of Randburg, Johannesburg.
 
Paramedics arrived on the scene to find that a car and a tanker truck had been involved in a partial head-on/side swipe collision. The driver of the truck was not injured but the driver of the car was critically injured. There was damage to the front of the vehicle, the entire drivers side as well as the roof and the driver sustained multiple injuries. The victims vehicle was severely damaged and had gone off the road and came to rest close to an embankment which offered little room to work and this further hampered the rescue effort. Furthermore the victim legs and feet were entrapped under the steering wheel and the remains of the dashboard. It was an extremely difficult rescue process which took rescuers using two sets of “jaws of life” about 90 minutes to free the victim from the wreck. During this time the victim was placed onto emergency life support and he was intubated and manually ventilated by the paramedics while he was still trapped in his car.

Due to the serious nature of the incident and the victims injuries the Netcare 911 helicopter was called to the scene and the doctor took charge of the scene and accompanied the victim during his trip in the helicopter to the Netcare Milpark hospital.
 
The road was closed for about two hours during the incident and motorists had to use an alternate route.
 
This incident was attended to by Netcare 911, Provincial fire and ambulance services and the Metro Police.

[Information provided by Netcare 911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog] 

NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911