A driver escaped unharmed after he drove into a massive sinkhole on the corner of Umbilo and Tunmer Road in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, this morning.

The sinkhole has been on the road for weeks. Paramedics say the tape around the hole had blown away.

Garrith Jamieson, the spokesperson for Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedics, says they responded to the single vehicle accident at about 05:30.

“On arrival, paramedics found that a single vehicle had crashed into an open hole, filled with water, where men had been doing construction work for the last few weeks. Paramedics assessed the driver, and fortunately he had sustained no injuries.

He urges motorists to practice caution in and around Durban, where there are many damaged roads.

“ALS Paramedics has attended to multiple incidents here due to what drivers advise is a lack of signage or barrier tape. This specific hole takes up three lanes, and people realize that they need to change lanes, and this is where collisions occur. At night, this hole is not visible at all, and all the barrier tape has been damaged or blown away,” says Jamieson.

He shared tips for motorists to avoid accidents:

• Concentrate on the roadway and try to see the damaged road before you hit it and damage your vehicle. By noticing it early, you could avoid the damaged surface.
• Should you be speeding and not concentrating while driving, you will have to slam on your brakes, which could cause a collision or severe damage.