FOLLOWING the horrific accident on the N2 last week, which was exacerbated by motorists blocking the emergency lanes, the Highway Mail spoke to Metro Police spokesperson, Parboo Sewpersad, about the repercussions for motorists who do this.
The crash, involving a truck and several vehicles, claimed the lives of two people and left thee injured.
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Sewpersad said they are aware of the alarming behaviour among some motorists and called it “totally unacceptable”.
“People who do that can be prosecuted of fine – R1500,” he said.
He said motorists should all be privy to the purpose of the emergency lanes.
“People end up dying due to not getting help in time. For example, paramedics respond to an accident. Police respond to a crime scene and if you block the way, the criminals get away and innocent people get injured or worse killed,” he explained.
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“Firefighters as well, they could be responding to a burning house or building or rescuing people trapped in a wreckage.”
He appealed to people to be mindful and do give way whenever they hear sirens and blue or red lights of emergency vehicles.
“It just the right thing to do; it could be you or your loved one who needs assistance. It is the duty of the driver to give ‘right of way’ to police, ambulance and fire services vehicles responding to any incident. I just urge road users to be considerate,” added Sewpersad.
Advanced Life Support Paramedic, Garrith Jamieson, said this causes major delays to getting to the actual scenes and once all the emergency lanes are blocked along with the other normal lanes it makes it almost impossible to get to the accident scene.
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“It results in patients deteriorating or worse, someone dying. There are legal implications on that,” said Jamieson.
He advised all motorists to please avoid using the yellow lane at all cost, especially when there is traffic back up, as “there is usually a reason for that”.
“Motorists should keep the yellow lane open to allow emergency services to go through.”
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
