‘Alcohol not only factor behind spike in crashes’
Johannesburg paramedics say although drinking and driving is an issue on the roads, it is not necessarily the main problem.
Gauteng saw a major dip in the number of crashes from the end of March due to the lockdown and the ban on the sale of alcohol.
With the easing of the lockdown to level 2 and the lifting of the ban on the sale of ban, authorities feared a spike on the number of road accidents as more South Africans got behind the wheel of their cars – some of them while having too much to drink.
Friday - the first pay day weekend after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the lifting of the ban on sale of alcohol - was nevertheless a quiet one in Johannesburg.
Jacaranda FM News accompanied ER24 as they patrolled the city’s streets, but on the night there were very few crashes and no fatalities.
ER24s advanced life medic Gavin Blaine says a number of factors are behind the recent spike in crashes.
Blaine believes some motorists adopted bad habits during hard lockdown.
“I don't think alcohol is directly linked to the surge in car accidents. I believe that it also has to do with the curfew times and the lockdown that we’re in.
“Based on the fact that there’s more people on the road. They have not been driving for three or four months. There are chances they would have taken where there no vehicles on the road - where they're going through red lights - they're doing that now that there are more vehicles on the roads.
“I’m sure alcohol has contributed to that but I believe it is a bit of everything that has contributed to the high trauma rates,” he said.
Blaine says there is generally a spike in crashes right before curfew and then the night slows down an hour later.