A 45 year old woman was flung from her bike this morning, resulting in her sustaining critical injuries.

ER24 paramedics at the scene said that the woman was allegedly traveling on her motorbike when a car collided into the side of her causing her to be flung from her bike. She then further crashed into the drivers door of another car before paramedics found her lying in the road at the corners of Friedman and 5th avenue in Sandton.

The woman was alert and conscious, but in a severe amount of pain. Upon initial assessment, findings revealed that she had sustained multiple broken bones, a severe chest injury and her foot was badly damaged.

The Advanced Life Support paramedic at the scene treated her for her injuries and she was taken by ambulance to Sunninghill hospital were trauma staff were waiting to take over her treatment.

It appeared that no one else had been injured in the collision.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

Apparently the Spanish police agreed to placate a ‘bank hostage’ situation by allowing the radical to ‘escape’ uninhibited.
He was allowed to walk out of the bank in the company of 2 hostages.

As requested, the police provided him with a motorcycle and free access to the motorcycle.
Then, leaving the hostages behind, he was permitted to ride away down a clear roadway to make his ‘escape.’

This whole incident, shown on CBS television, complete with news reporting in English, can be seen on this 55-second video clip.
The concluding few seconds of this video shows the result of their planning.

A 55 year old man sustained moderate injuries this morning after he was allegedly struck off his motorbike in Gordons Bay.

The cause of the collision is unknown, but the man was driving on Faura Marine Drive when a motor vehicle allegedly collided with his motorbike, knocking him to the ground.

When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found the man in the middle of the road. He was in severe pain. Paramedics treated the man at the scene for a suspected back and neck injury as well as a suspected shoulder injury and various scrapes and bruises.

The man was later transported to Mediclinic Vergelegen for further medical care. The driver of the motor vehicle sustained no injuries. Local law enforcement officials who attended the scene will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

A pizza delivery man sustained serious injuries this afternoon following a collision between his delivery motorcycle and a car in Victoria RD in Woodstock.

The cause of the collision is unknown, but the man was allegedly flung through the air before landing on the tarmac. When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found the man in severe pain. The man had sustained suspected injuries to his back, neck and hips.

The man received treatment at the scene before being transported to Groote Schuur Hospital for further care. Local law enforcement authorities who attended the scene will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

A 18 year old man is in a serious condition after being struck by a motor vehicle while cycling on the N7 highway this morning.

The cause of the collision is unknown, but when ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found the young man being attended to by the local fire and rescue service.

The man had sustained a severe head injury and paramedics used Advance Life Support techniques to stabilise the patient. Due the distance to the nearest appropriate medical facility the ER24 Discovery Medicopter was dispatched the scene.

The man was later airlifted to Groote Schuur Hospital for further treatment. The driver of the motor vehicle sustained no injuries.

Local law enforcement authorities who attended the scene will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

On the Arrive Alive website there are 2 sections well worth of your attention:

Cycling safely on South African roads and mountain bike trails

Cycling Safety Suggestions for South African Conditions

[Info Victoria Simpson]

For Motorbike Safety, we would like to urge all our bikers to view the following sections:

• Motorcycle Safety 101
• Road Safety & Training Motorcyclists
• Think Bike Presentation
• Motorcycle Safety
• Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors
• Training OTRE

Most school pupils go through the motions of acquiring their driving licence in their last year of high school, but for a few, this little plastic passport to freedom comes a bit earlier in life in the form of a motorcycle learners licence. What few teenagers realise is that with this newly discovered freedom comes a huge responsibility.

ER24 emergency services attend to hundreds of motorcycle accidents annually and have noticed a sudden influx of scooter and motorcycle accidents in Kimberley. The influx of scooter related accidents is in no way isolated to this Northern Cape city as these cases are reported daily across South Africa.

Due to the short time period over which these accidents took place, paramedics in Kimberley felt the need to investigate the anomaly; what they discovered was shocking.

Upon questioning the teenagers involved in the accidents they discovered that most of the young adults received their motorcycle to drive to and from school without ever gaining any experience in driving a vehicle on two wheels. In other words, most of the teenagers had never even been on a bicycle before the day of receiving their scooter.

As adults and parents we serve as examples and mentors to the youth and therefore need to educate the young drivers. The paramedics in Kimberley identified this need to educate the youth in the area on the skills necessary to drive the motorcycles and what to do in the event of an emergency should the situation arise. With the help of local traffic officials and bikers from the surrounding area, the group of educators invited all the kids one Saturday morning and mentored the young commuters on certain safety aspects.

Living in a civilised society comes with its set of rules and morals. This is valid for all licence baring road users as we have a responsibility to go about our daily commute in a safe manner. As the youth of this nation evolves and use the roads whether on a scooter or on four wheels, ask yourself the question: “Am I a role model when it comes to good road etiquette?”

Andre Visser, ER24

For Motorbike Safety, we would like to urge all our bikers to view the following sections:

• Motorcycle Safety 101
• Road Safety & Training Motorcyclists
• Think Bike Presentation
• Motorcycle Safety
• Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors
• Training OTRE

We would like to share an email sent to the Arrive Alive website earlier today:

Subject:        Dangerous Kommetjie Road running through residential area, Fish Hoek – public meeting

Message:

——–

Hi

We are holding a public think-tank meeting with regard to Kommetjie Road running through Fish Hoek, following another tragic and unnecessary death of a pedestrian on this road last month.The meeting will be chaired by Nicki Holderness, retired councillor of our area, and the panel will include our present three ward councillors, head engineer of Cape Town City’s transport network development, seniors from the Traffic Dept and significant others.We ahve also invited seniors from the Golden Arrow Bus Co and the local Taxi Associations.

We all recognise the fact that driver attitude has to change. Do you have advice about how to go about achieving this? Can you recommend ways to drive home the fact that reckless and fast driving kills/ signage that has impact/ material that teachers could use in the schools that might encourage children to speak up when their parents break the rules/ ways of encouraging people using taxis not to get into the vehicles of known bad drivers or into vehicles that are obviously not road worthy?

I have in my possession letters written to the authorities in 1992 and 1997 demaning speed control measures on this road which separates the people living above it from the schools, shops and churches(and everything else)in town. There has been major public outcry over the two recent fatalities involving speeding drivers and innnocent victims and people have reached the point where they will not rest until effective speed control measures are at last put into place.

We  have set up an online petition with regard to Kommetjie Rd http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/scenicsouth/0/12 which has over 560 signatures on it and also have info following up on the recent tragedy on our website www.scenicsouth.co.za.

We would be grateful for any advice or assistance in this regards.

[We would like to confirm that this message was shared with Road Safety Specialists in the Western Cape]

ER24 paramedics who were on their way back from Pietermaritzburg towards Durban came across the accident. They found the motor cyclist pinned underneath the car that was in the left hand lane of the freeway. The motor cyclist was still alive but in a serious condition. The Fire Department arrived and where able to use specialised equipment to lift the car off the patient. Paramedics then stabilised the patient’s neck and head and placed him on a specialised board to help take him out from underneath the car.

Once out paramedics were able to assess him better and were able to treat him further for other injuries that he had sustained from the crash. Advanced life support intervention was performed on the patient before he was rushed to R K Khans Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

It is unclear how this accident occurred as there was no damage to the light motor vehicle but the front of the bike had extensive damage to it. SAPS from Hammersdale were on the scene and would investigate the accident further.

Derrick Banks, ER24

For more information about how much it will cost to insure a motorbike, call MiWay today on 0860 200 55 8 or visit http://www.miway.co.za/motorcycle-insurance

For Motorbike Safety, we would like to urge all our bikers to view the following sections:

• Motorcycle Safety 101
• Road Safety & Training Motorcyclists
• Think Bike Presentation
• Motorcycle Safety
• Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors
• Training OTRE

The cause of the accident and series of events leading up to it remain unclear and will form the subject of a South African Police Force investigation.

An off-duty paramedic was in the car what was struck in the junction. He alighted from the vehicle and rushed to her aid. The force of impact had thrown her from the bike and she was found lying near the mangled wreckage.

She had sustained multi-system traumatic injuries and her condition deteriorated drastically. Unfortunately she succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

The paramedic and his passenger were uninjured in the smash.