KwaZulu-Natal Private Ambulance Services’ area manager Frikkie Bekker says that since lockdown level 3 was announced, they have had an exponential increase in the number of road incidents. During the previous two levels of lockdown, incidents were marginal.
In the last week, emergency crews experienced between one and three accidents a day. Bekker further stated that they have also seen an increase in the severity of injuries.
The question arises as to why these incidents have suddenly increased.
Bekker referred to the fact that level 3 lockdown allows more people to move around.
Since Monday (June 1), when South Africa moved to level 3 lockdown, there has been the accident on the Bloodriver and Ncome road, and two accidents on the R33 Kambula road. Most of the victims sustained minor to moderate injuries.
A pedestrian was killed when he was knocked over on the R69. On Thursday morning (June 4), a taxi and a bakkie collided at the corner of Kerk and Emmett streets.
Later that day, a vehicle overturned several times when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle on the Natal Spa road. Members of the community who were at the scene said the patient was in a critical condition and they were not willing to wait for an ambulance.
The KZN Private Ambulance Services area manager investigated further and found that the driver was at a local hospital. The patient had fortunately only sustained minor injuries.
KZN Private Ambulance Services urge the public not to attend to injured people by loading them into cars and rushing them off to hospital, but to rather wait for an ambulance. Intervening before paramedics arrive can endanger the lives of the injured, as well as emergency services personnel. It also creates difficulties when the scene has to be investigated by police.
Several other accidents also occurred over the weekend, of which one was on the Nongoma road. The driver of the vehicle was remanded into police custody, pending the outcome of the investigation of the collision.
Bekker gave the Herald a rundown on statistics from the beginning of the year (January to March 26) and during lockdown (March 27 to June) of Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA) and Pedestrian Vehicle Accidents (PVA):
January – 13 MVA and 0 PVA;
February – 21 MVA and 1 PVA;
March – 24 MVA and 0 PVA;
April – 1 MVA and 2 PVA;
May – 12 MVA and 1 PVA.
Within the first week of June, there have already been 15 MVAs and 1 PVA.

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