Burning bus on N1 again shows importance of emergency lanes
'We need members of the public on our roads to consider being more forgiving towards emergency vehicles,' ER24
The importance of motorists refraining from using the emergency lane on highways, was again highlighted when emergency services had difficulty responding to an incident on the N1 on December 11.
During the early hours of the morning, near William Nicol Drive, a bus transporting passengers from Cape Town to Zimbabwe caught fire.
Russel Meiring, spokesperson for ER24, urged all motorists to refrain from using the emergency lane and make way for emergency vehicles.
“Motorists who drive regularly will experience at least one instance a day where a big red ER24 ambulance is trying to scream past them with lights flashing and sirens blaring. One may have wondered, “Where are they are going?”, and others may become annoyed and think, “Why do they have to drive so fast and push through the traffic like they do?”
“It may seem like emergency vehicle drivers are reckless, impatient and rude, but they are only trying to do what they can and do best: get to the scene of an emergency as quickly as they can, as mere minutes may mean the difference between life and death,” said Meiring.
“We need members of the public on our roads to consider being more forgiving towards emergency vehicles because they really are only trying to help those people in a medical emergency who are unable at that point in time to help themselves.
“A general rule to follow when one notices an ambulance in free flowing traffic, is to move into the left hand lane and reduce your speed. Also be considerate to those drivers around them, allowing the drivers to move into their lane where they can and if it is safe to do so. If traffic is at a standstill, the ambulance driver will generally indicate where he finds it best to pass.
“If one notices that the other vehicles have been moving over to either side of the road, they should simply follow their leads. If there really is no option for them to move out of the way, they should try and stay calm, the driver of the ambulance will be one step ahead, and once traffic starts to move forward they will continue on.
“ER24 also request that drivers should try and avoid driving in the shoulder lanes of the road if there is traffic; it makes it very difficult for them to get to the scene of the accident. The sooner they get to the scene, the sooner the patients and wrecked vehicles will be removed and traffic will flow freely once again.”
