Keep the quads in the dirt and safety!

Earlier today the developers of Quad24.co.za forwarded an email to the Arrive Alive Road Safety website. This email was an urgent request for someone to address the unsafe and reckless driving of quads on public roads. The email reads as follows:

“I hope you can help me. We have some people up our road who insist on riding their quad bikes on the roads. Not only the adults but sometimes 2 kids at a time will ride on 1 quad. No helmets, in shorts and t-shirts.

Now I know it’s illegal to ride quads on the roads. I have confronted the guy and he gets agro. I’ve called the cops but by the time they come around they’ve stopped and I can’t tell where they live.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a biker so I’m all for riding. I however think it should be done responsibly.

My question to you is what can I do about getting these irresponsible and, frankly, stupid people off the roads?”

The best reply from a safety perspective would be to report these drivers from the Call Centre on the Arrive Alive website or directly to the National Traffic Call Centre at 0861 400 800. Too many accidents are the result of irresponsible behavior of road users and we should all be obliged to assist in removing these road users.

The safety of quad bike and atv riders is addressed in detail on the Quad24 website and much focus has been placed on responsible enjoyment of this outdoor experience. Not only does this website include photos of the picturesque Lesotho mountains – but also important safety tips and advice on how to plan for a quad bike trip and what to take along on the journey!

May we all enjoy safe traveling on our quads and atv’s in South Africa!

Netcare 911 stats: 253 collisions this weekend in Gauteng.

From Friday 07 March 2008 until 7:00am Monday morning 10 March 2008, the Netcare 911 call centre dispatched emergency vehicles to 253 collision scenes throughout Gauteng comprising of 208 motor vehicle collisions and 45pedestrian collisions. Although these numbers are quite high, these sort of numbers are not uncommon around pay day weekends. However the numbers are concerning with the Easter rush just two weeks away.
 
Several of this weekends bigger incidents led to lengthily road closures resulting in severe traffic delays. Below is a breakdown of some of the more serious incidents:
  
Friday 07 March 2008. 3:39am M1 north near the Marlboro drive off ramp, Sandton:
Four people transported by ambulances to hospital after a hijacked truck collided with two vehicles. The truck then overturned several kilometres down the road in the Buccleuch Interchange. This incident resulted in two crime scenes and a large recovery truck had to be called to removed the overturned refrigerated truck. The split from the M1 north to the N3 east was closed to traffic until after the morning rush hour resulting in a severe delay to motorists in the Buccleuch Interchange.
 
Saturday 08 March 2008. 1:20am N12 east near the Edenvale off ramp:
A truck drove into the rear of another truck, the impact was so severe that the two trucks were stuck together. The cab of the rear truck sustained extreme damage and crumbled so badly that it took rescuers more than four hours to free the trapped man. He sustained serious injuries and was treated by the flight doctor at the scene before being airlifted by the Netcare 911 helicopter to the Netcare Milpark hospital.The N12 travelling towards Witbank was closed for several hours during the rescue effort and was only reopened to traffic after 7am, about six hours after the incident occurred.
 
Saturday 08 March 2008. 6;30am Malibongwe drive near N1 highway, Randburg:
Two occupants of a car escaped with relatively minor injuries after their car was hit by a minibus taxi and crashed through a bridges protective barrier before falling about 15 meters down into the Klein Jukskei river. The car landed on its roof in the water, and the passenger was treated by paramedics on the scene and transported by ambulance to the Helen Joseph hospital. A large number of people came to view the spectacle and the road was partially closed for several hours before the vehicle was recovered from the water. 

Sunday 09 March 2008. 1:19am N1 south between Hammanskraal and Pretoria:
Bus overturned after colliding with the armco barrier after the Murryfield toll gate. Fire fighters had to use the “jaws of life” to free some of the victims from the wreck. 2 Passengers died at the scene and a total of 36 patients were transported by various ambulance services to the Garankuwa, Jubilee and Netcare Montana hospitals. The N1 south was closed  for several hours and authorities had to divert traffic onto the N1 north bound side of the highway. The bodies of the deceased we only freed at around 5:30am and the road was reopened around 7am. 

Sunday 09 March 2008. 11:21am R512 past Lanseria airport:
Motorcycle collided with a bakkie that was doing a “u-turn” near the Home of the Chicken Pie . The motorbike driver was in a critical condition and was placed onto emergency life support, he had sustained a head injury and several other fractures, he was airlifted by the Netcare 911 helicopter to the Johannesburg hospital. The bikers passenger was in a stable condition and was transported by ambulance to the Johannesburg hospital. The road was closed for a short period of time while the helicopter was on the scene.
 
Sunday 09 March 2008. 6pm R57 between Heilbron and Sasolburg:
Minibus taxi overturned, all of the patients were very lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries. Ten patients were in a stable condition with a variety of injuries and were transported by ambulances to the Heilbron and Sasolburg hospitals.
 
Monday 10 March 2008: 1:30am N1 south bound at the Malibongwe off ramp, Randburg:
Bakkie overturned and the driver was ejected from the vehicle. He sustained very serious injuries to his pelvis and abdomen as well as other possible fractures. The passenger also sustained serious injuries but was more stable than the driver. Both patients were transported by ambulances to the Fourways hospital.
 
Monday 10 March 2008. 7:07am Richards drive, Midrand:
Male cyclist knocked down by a minibus taxi,  the patient sustained a severe head injury and was placed onto emergency life support at the scene before being airlifted by the Netcare 911 air ambulance to the Chris Hani Baragwaneth hospital. No occupants of the minibus were injured.

[ Information provided by Netcare911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog]

NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911

Cyclist critical, airlifted after being knocked down by taxi.

At approximately 7:07am, Monday 10 March 2008, Netcare 911 paramedics responded to a report that a cyclist had been knocked down by a minibus taxi in Richards drive close to Gallagher Estate in Midrand.
 
Paramedics found that the male cyclist had sustained a severe head injury and he was placed onto emergency life support at the scene. Due to the severity of the injury combined with the heavy traffic congestion during the morning rush period, it was decided that it was in the best interests of the patient to get him to hospital as quickly as possible and the Netcare 911 helicopter was called to the scene. The patient was airlifted to the Chris Hani Baragwaneth hospital, he was in a critical condition.
 
The road was closed for about ten minutes while the air ambulance was at the scene.
This incident was attended to by Netcare 911, Midrand fire department and the Metro Police.

[ Information provided by Netcare911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog]

NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911

Car crashes from bridge, falls 15m into river.

At approximately 6:30am, Saturday 08 March 2008, Netcare 911 paramedics responded to a report of a serious collision on Malibongwe drive on the bridge over the Klein Jukskie river close to the N1 highway, Randburg.
 
According to eye witnesses, the car was travelling towards the highway when a minibus taxi that had stopped in the slow lane pulled off and collided with the car, the driver lost control of the car and it crossed over onto oncoming traffic before crashing through the bridge barrier and falling about 15 meters down to the river below. The car landed upside down in the shallow water. The two occupants were incredibly lucky to escape without serious injuries: the driver sustained minor injuries and chose not to go to hospital, the passenger was treated in a precautionary manner and was fully immobilised onto a spinal board and was transported by a Netcare 911 ambulance to the Helen Joseph hospital for further assessment and treatment. Nobody in the minibus taxi was injured.
 
The incident drew a large crowd of spectators and traffic in both directions came to a virtual standstill as many motorists parked their cars in the slow lanes on both sides of the road in order to satisfy their curiosity and catch a glimpse of the event. Police had their hands full dealing with the constant curious passer-by’s and the incident took several hours to clear as a large recovery vehicle had to be called to the scene to remove the car from the river.
 
This incident was attended to by Netcare 911, fire department and the SAPS.
 
Several weeks ago one person died at the scene and two others were critically injured and placed onto emergency life support after two cars were involved in a head-on collision in exactly the same place. On that occasion one of the cars came to rest on top of the pedestrian part of the bridge and damaged the safety railing of the bridge.

[ Information provided by Netcare911 to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog]

NETCARE 911
Emergency No. 082 911