Drivers refuse to yield to ambulance emergency
Motorists who refused to yield to an ambulance on its way to an emergency could have cost a man his life.
Motorists who refused to yield to an ambulance on its way to an emergency could have cost a man his life.
Jan Moloko, Makanane Ambulance Services co-owner and driver, said some streets in the city might as well be closed off to emergency services, because they were of no use to them.
On Friday Moloko received a call that a man had collapsed in Onder Street and did not regain his consciousness.
The ambulance that was sent out to this emergency with Moloko as driver, could not get there quickly, because motorists in Excelsior Street refused to obey traffic lights or to stop and make way for the ambulance.
Moloko said he was forced to make a U-turn and travel six blocks further on a cumbersome route to reach the patient.
“We wanted to make use of Excelsior Street because it was the quickest way to Onder Street.
“However, we became stuck in traffic and couldn’t move.
“I had to make an illegal U-turn, make my way down Jorrison Street, turn into Dahl Street and then Devenish Street before I could finally reach Onder Street,” he said.
“What should have been a trip of a few minutes, took me a half hour, time that could have been fatal to the patient. Thank goodness the patient did not die.”
Moloko said the patient was taken to the hospital and released the next day.
“The woman who called in the emergency, thought the patient had a heart attack. If it had been a heart attack, that 30 minute wait could have killed him.
“The motorists who were so focused on disobeying the traffic rules and ignoring sirens will be the cause of someone’s death one day.”
Assistant Polokwane traffic chief, Reginald Ramporo, said he was not aware of the incident and said officials were on their posts every day.
However, according to him, the department could not post an official on every corner in the city.
Ramporo said the department concentrated on busy streets like Excelsior Street, but could not explain why the officials on duty could not assist the ambulance when it had trouble in Excelsior Street.
