Hilgard Matthews, the acting chief director of communications at the Department of Transport, who is responsible for the well known Arrive Alive campaign, says there are literally millions of people on the roads over the Easter holiday. Not only do people head out on holiday, but Easter is also an important religious holiday for groups such as the Zionist Christian Church (ZCC), which has many hundreds of thousands of members going on their annual pilgrimage to Moria in Limpopo Province at this time of the year. In Cape Town and Durban music and sport will draw more tourists to these cities. Many South Africans will also be trying to fit in a holiday prior to the 2010 World Cup, which is going to bring in many visitors making travel tricky over this period.
Matthews has also announced that this year the Arrive Alive campaign will be partnering with emergency service Netcare 911 in order to get the message of road safety across to more South Africans. He says that the two organisations share a number of synergies including a desire to ensure that South Africans remain safe on our roads.
‘Road accidents represent a considerable burden to our society,' continues Matthews. ‘Many people are killed and injured on our roads each year. Besides the physical and emotional toll it has been estimated that accidents cost the South African economy as much as R12 billion per annum. The Arrive Alive campaign seeks to partner with organisations such as Netcare 911 in order to tackle this burden through improving user compliance with traffic laws and reducing the number of road accidents.'
Peter Feurstein, Operations Director at Netcare 911, says that Netcare 911 is ‘delighted' to be working with the Arrive Alive campaign. He points out that the two organisations share the common aim of educating South African road users, and that the messages they want to share with the South African public are highly complementary. ‘We at Netcare 911 feel our job is not only to provide excellent emergency care, but also to educate people about the most common causes of accidents on the roads as well as the steps that should be taken to ensure safe driving.'
Getting back to the subject of Easter, Feurstein said it was a busy time for emergency services such as Netcare 911. ‘We unfortunately have to deal with a large number of road and other accidents and we urge people to please be sensible while on the roads or enjoying themselves on holiday.'
‘As is the case every holiday season, Netcare 911 will be out in full force making every effort to ensure that those on the roads, at home or at holiday destinations are receiving the emergency medical support they may need,' continues Feurstein. He points out that Netcare 911 employs just short of 1 000 emergency medical care professionals and that most of them are ready to handle any emergency situation around the country this holiday.
Feurstein suggests that Netcare's 24-hour emergency operations centre is ready to deploy the appropriate emergency medical response for holidaymakers. These include road ambulances and rapid response vehicles, emergency medical helicopters or one of the Netcare 911 fixed wing air ambulance aircraft.
Netcare 911 will have units on standby at the major strategic points, such as certain toll points or high accident zones, on the main roads and at all of its bases around the country. These all have quick access to emergencies such as road accidents.
Feurstein suggests that many South Africans are not aware of what to do in an emergency situation and are consequently not prepared when they are confronted by one. ‘We find it amazing that so many people do not even know what numbers to call in the event of an emergency,' he points out. ‘South Africa's best known emergency line is 082 911; remember it and save the number on your mobile phone.'
‘The same old culprits are important contributors to medical emergencies every holiday season and these include things like driver fatigue and drinking and driving. The Netcare 911 emergency response professionals have seen some truly horrific accidents and we cannot stress enough the importance of avoiding alcohol when driving.'
Feurstein also recommends that drivers get enough sleep the night before a journey and pull over and take regular breaks. ‘In many cases the driver starts feeling drowsy but will decide to push through to the next stop to save time on the journey. But the half hour you might save is never worth your own life, that of your passengers or that of the other motorists on the road whom you may be endangering.'
‘There are some basic road safety rules that should always be practiced as well such as wearing your seatbelt, staying hydrated and cool so that you don't become lethargic, checking your ‘blind spot' when over-taking, and driving with extra caution when the roads are wet,' says Feurstein.
Feurstein advises all motorists to keep their personal information close at hand so that you or emergency service workers can access it should it be needed in the event of an emergency. In this way your personal information can speak for you if you are unable to speak for yourself.
If you need to report emergencies do so in a calm, clear manner that states the nature of the emergency, and give your name and contact number so that you can be reached if necessary. Explain whether the emergency is life-threatening and give your exact location and, if possible, landmarks that emergency workers can look out for.
‘Let us ensure that we have a peaceful long weekend that is free of emergencies,' concludes Feurstein. ‘With some planning before we travel and using a little common sense, many bad situations can be avoided or at least dealt with better. Please do everything in your power to make your Easter a happy one.'
