Road accident statistics in South Africa are of huge concern and according to the World Health Organisation the road fatality rates on the African continent is the highest in the world.

Nigeria and South Africa have the highest fatality rates with 33.7 and 31.9 deaths per 100 000 population per year, respectively in comparison to Australia’s 5.2 and New Zealand’s 9.1 per 100 000 population per year.

In an effort to make a difference, Cartrack has joined hands with Fury Motor Group to provide support to Netcare 911’s Rapid Intervention Unit which offers assistance and support at a time when road accident victims and emergency services personnel need it most.

The Rapid Intervention Unit has evolved from being a pure safety vehicle that initially secured the scene of an accident until emergency services arrived, to an invaluable support for paramedic and fire personnel complete with extrication capabilities.  The support vehicle operates independently from official medical and rescue vehicles, providing assistance in road accident rescue operations.

This road accident support vehicle will be stationed along the N3 route to Kwazulu-Natal at the Van Reenen’s Pass over the Easter long weekend – a hot spot for accidents – and will attend to any incidents in the vicinity.One of the key services that the vehicle provides is to prevent situations where a motorist crashes into an existing accident scene.  Just because you have pulled your vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, does not mean that you are safe.  Distracted drivers often do not have enough time to react to a change in the road conditions, which can potentially cause additional damage to an existing accident scene by further injuring accident victims, and placing the lives of emergency personnel attending to the scene at serious risk.