IN an effort to raise awareness about road safety and road accident prevention, a rescue campaign tribute will be held this Saturday in Port Elizabeth.
The campaign, initiated by the Port Elizabeth’s Rescue Campaign NPO, will collaborate with law enforcement and emergency services from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) which is open to the public.
According to Annie Bezuidenhout, director of the Rescue Campaign NPO, the annual event commemorates road traffic victims by dedicating the third Sunday in November to the World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims.
“This day is set aside to acknowledge the loss and suffering of road accident victims and their families, and to honour our emergency medical services, law enforcement officers, and all other public service officials for their daily commitment to saving lives on our roads,” Bezuidenhout said.
The event includes a 37km motor vehicle convoy from Kings Beach to St Albans starting at 07:00, and a six-hour programme at the Rescue Campaign facility situated on St Albans Road.
Bezuidenhout added, “A full-day programme from 08:00 until 15:00 will commence at the Rescue Campaign facilities.
This includes VIP keynote speakers, guest speakers from the Road Accident Fund, testimonies by road crash survivors, accident simulations, and advanced driving safety demonstrations including hijack prevention.”
The South African National Roads Agency will be overseeing possible road closures on the day as an estimated 800+ vehicles are expected to participate in the convoy.
Participants include the general public, as well as corporate entities, emergency services and municipal constituencies.
To highlight the importance of emergency services, officials will be simulating a motor vehicle accident scene and rescue protocol, including:
- Emergency services response simulations;
- Taxi overloading simulations;
- Other relevant department’s duties and services;
– For more information, call Annie Bezuidenhout at 041 360 9157.
