RIMS system to come into play?

Only a few months after the last fatal accident on the R34 (Melmoth road), another horror crash has occurred. In May, five people died when a bakkie and a car collided head-on near Klipfontein Dam. It is alleged that the car, with five occupants, was in the process of overtaking another vehicle when it collided with the bakkie. The five people in the car were trapped in the wreckage and died at the scene.

On Saturday night on the R34, a Mazda and a bakkie collided head-on just past the notorious Lakeside Crossing. Parts of the vehicles were strewn across the roadway, which indicates the power of the impact. It is once again alleged that one of the vehicles was overtaking a taxi when it collided with the other vehicle. The collision caused the taxi, that was transporting passengers, to overturn. Looking at the wreckage of both vehicles, it is alleged that speed was a contributing factor to the collision. The driver of the Mazda was flung out and sadly died at the scene, while the driver of the bakkie was trapped in the wreckage. KwaZulu Private Ambulance Services area manager Frikkie Bekker and his team quickly mobilised the ‘jaws-of-life’ to cut the driver free before carefully lifting him onto a gurney.

Upon arrival, one of the patients had no pulse, but fortunately the person was resuscitated, stabilised and rushed to hospital. Three people were seriously injured and two others sustained minor injuries.

Due to the high volume of accidents / incidents in the area, it was recently decided that the Road Incident Management System (RIMS) will be implemented. Hopefully, this system will improve the response and clean-up time after an incident to restore traffic flow as quickly as possible.

What is RIMS?

It is the co-ordinating and pre-planning use of human, mechanical and electronic resources to manage incidents and restore traffic to normal operating conditions.

What is regarded as an incident?

The occurrence of any extraordinary condition or event which results in a reduction in road capacity and / or creates a hazard for road users for a sustained period of time.

An incident is not merely a major accident / crash. It can also be a minor accident, shoulder / lane blockage, spilled load, construction area or special event.

Role players in RIMS:

· Centralised Communication Centre (CCC)

· Emergency Services

· Specialist Services

· Non-specialist but essential services

· The affected parties

Incident management chain of events:

· Incident detection – establishing location

· Mobilisation and response of services

· Situation analysis

· Scene management

· Clearance

· Follow-up

Fundamental principles of RIMS:

· Centralised communication by the channelling of information through one communication centre

· On-scene co-ordination

Why is there a Centralised Communication Centre (CCC)?

· To help avoid duplication of call-outs

· Co-ordinating all communication from the scene

What is the role of the CCC?

· To gather accurate and vital relevant information from the caller to pass on to responding services

· Assess the information and dispatch appropriate services

· Refer to the Incident Management Guideline Plan

· Notify back-up/secondary services

· Prompt the co-ordinator about arrival and departure times, and progress at the scene

· Keep a record of the incident

ALSO READ: Five killed in horrific crash along R34

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.

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