Madam – I agree with last week’s very disconcerted with regards to the Memel Walk.
According to Mr Pieters, he says there were 250 marshalls on the road. Aren’t these marhalls supposed to be visible with reflective jackets, so that the participants know who these marshalls are?
According to Mr Pieters there were 250 marshalls which equate to 5 marshalls per kilometre – sorry Sir, that does not go down well with me. There was no leading vehicle warning approaching motorists and trucks that there was a walk/run in progress.
I was off duty and when I realised the dangers, I put on my reflective SAPS vest and performed traffic calming duties. Many participants must have seen this figure warning approaching trucks to slow down and be cautious.
Concerned Citizen
Response from organiser, Johan Pieters:
Dear Madam -Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Concerned Citizen off duty SAPS Member.
We state very clearly in our response that the Water table Staff were also our Marshalls.
We had three lead vehicles on the road.
Concerned Citizen will know that meetings take place between event organisers, Traffic and SAPS to ensure the success and safety of the day.
Each one of those groups, Traffic – SAPS – Event Organiser has certain roles to play.
All the best and thank you for your assistance; we appreciate your feedback.
Johan Pieters, Managing Director : Champ Marketing
