These dam cyclists!!

[Robbie Stewart]

What I am struggling to understand is why the construction of the dam wall had to stop to build an evacuation route for the injured rider if he was not in a closed off space? There is ample access to the jeep track from Saasveld side which would not necessitate operational halting if he was not at the wall site?

[Gen]

What I am struggling to understand is why the construction of the dam wall had to stop to build an evacuation route for the injured rider if he was not in a closed off space? There is ample access to the jeep track from Saasveld side which would not necessitate operational halting if he was not at the wall site?

When any incident happens it has to stop and health and safety have to inspect work can then only resume once all measures have been put into place and the health and safety officer is satisfied...

[Robbie Stewart]

When any incident happens it has to stop and health and safety have to inspect work can then only resume once all measures have been put into place and the health and safety officer is satisfied...

 

I get that bit, but according to the man who "knows" what's what, there is a glaring omission of facts about why such extraordinary events took place to medically assist an injured rider, since the offending party was likely "innocent" of what he is being accused of.

 

What I am getting at is that if the rider was indeed far from the wall, then what purpose did closing the wall production serve? i.e., either the manufacturer co is lying, or the newspapers are, or the rider is...

[gemmerbal]

it seems to me some people think they are building a swimming pool. its a dam, and not a plaasdam either. a proper dam.

 

https://www.georgeherald.com/News/Article/General/raising-of-dam-s-spillway-on-track-201907170839

[gemmerbal]

[gemmerbal]

[gemmerbal]

[gemmerbal]

try driving an ambulance over that?

[Pure Savage]

it seems to me some people think they are building a swimming pool. its a dam, and not a plaasdam either. a proper dam.

 

https://www.georgeherald.com/News/Article/General/raising-of-dam-s-spillway-on-track-201907170839

I think the logging be more of an issue, I highly doubt they are using the tiny loggin roads at 8% gradients to bring fill in for the mine, more likely using the tar road in.

 

 

The red is the trails, no mining equipment can get in there. More likely an issue with logging like in article

[gemmerbal]

OHS is needed, to the outside person it always seems overboard, until they experience it first hand, then the mindshift happens. its always people from outside a specific industry that seem to think they know better.

 

can you tell this lack of understanding really irritates me?

[gemmerbal]

as mentioned, i dont have an intimate knowledge of the trails there. all i know is what i read on the Geore Municipal website, which agrees with the article on N24, and that is that people/cyclist have repeatedly ignored the notifications etc and that there has been incidents of cyclists being witnessed in restricted areas. that is what i read. if the trails are beyond the construction zones, then A) riders arent sticking to the route B) riders are entering a construction site without permission.

 

the articles i mention clearly state that riders have been witnessed in restricted areas and had to be rescued from a restricted area. thus it would obviously be necessary for an ambulance to enter the site, and 50T trucks and other excavation vehicles would obviously have to come to a standstill otherwise rescued cyclist and ambulance could end up like that Land Cruiser. i mean is this point going amiss?

 

 

I think the logging be more of an issue, I highly doubt they are using the tiny loggin roads at 8% gradients to bring fill in for the mine, more likely using the tar road in.

 

Trails.JPG

 

The red is the trails, no mining equipment can get in there. More likely an issue with logging like in article

[gemmerbal]

i dont cycle through a court/theatre/IT office. why cycle through a construction site?

[Skubarra]

I think the logging be more of an issue, I highly doubt they are using the tiny loggin roads at 8% gradients to bring fill in for the mine, more likely using the tar road in.

 

Trails.JPG

 

The red is the trails, no mining equipment can get in there. More likely an issue with logging like in article

 

 

From the linked article, we can speculate on why the rider thought he is wrongly blamed, but my gut feel is still that he was riding in he place he should not have.

 

We continue to appeal to all hikers, cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts to stay clear of all plantation and forest terrain, tracks and roads south of the train tracks above the dam. The work site is much larger than just the area directly adjacent to the dam and is potentially extremely dangerous for people who are not meant to be there.

 

A special appeal is being made to cyclists to please find routes outside this area and to not take any chances. Heavy vehicles will be using almost all the plantation and forest roads that cyclists frequent. Cyclists speeding down mountain paths run the risk of encountering large vehicles on winding plantation roads and they may not be able to stop or get out of the way in time if they come upon a truck. The area is always considered a high-risk site 24 hours, seven days a week. Ongoing safety risk reviews will be carried out and areas will be opened to public access only if it is considered safe for general access.

[Pure Savage]

as mentioned, i dont have an intimate knowledge of the trails there. all i know is what i read on the Geore Municipal website, which agrees with the article on N24, and that is that people/cyclist have repeatedly ignored the notifications etc and that there has been incidents of cyclists being witnessed in restricted areas. that is what i read. if the trails are beyond the construction zones, then A) riders arent sticking to the route B) riders are entering a construction site without permission.

 

the articles i mention clearly state that riders have been witnessed in restricted areas and had to be rescued from a restricted area. thus it would obviously be necessary for an ambulance to enter the site, and 50T trucks and other excavation vehicles would obviously have to come to a standstill otherwise rescued cyclist and ambulance could end up like that Land Cruiser. i mean is this point going amiss?

Yeah agree, if there are signs people must stay out, 100%. 

[Pure Savage]

From the linked article, we can speculate on why the rider thought he is wrongly blamed, but my gut feel is still that he was riding in he place he should not have.

 

We continue to appeal to all hikers, cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts to stay clear of all plantation and forest terrain, tracks and roads south of the train tracks above the dam. The work site is much larger than just the area directly adjacent to the dam and is potentially extremely dangerous for people who are not meant to be there.

 

A special appeal is being made to cyclists to please find routes outside this area and to not take any chances. Heavy vehicles will be using almost all the plantation and forest roads that cyclists frequent. Cyclists speeding down mountain paths run the risk of encountering large vehicles on winding plantation roads and they may not be able to stop or get out of the way in time if they come upon a truck. The area is always considered a high-risk site 24 hours, seven days a week. Ongoing safety risk reviews will be carried out and areas will be opened to public access only if it is considered safe for general access.

Agree 100%, if you climb over a fence that says stay out which was never there before, then you are to blame. Did not know they were also doing logging as well.

[Robbie Stewart]

The dam is getting the wall lifted to cater for the growing need of the town. When I lived in George (since 1980) the dam was never a problem in terms of water shortages. The first time there was a problem was in 2008, and then already there were calls to increase the wall height to alleviate drought related issues, but as always, the municipality decided to ignore the problem the moment it started raining again in around 2009. I left in 2013. I am glad they have begun lifting the wall at last.

Still, cyclists all mountain users should know better than to go venture in a place they KNOW they don't belong.  I am still not buying the whole thing of him not being close to the wall construction site. If the guy fell either side of the wall, an ambulance could get there without needing a road to be specially built. Either from Stander Street side, or from Saasveld side. The medical rescue crew would in either case not need to walk more than say 50 meters either way.

I am calling BS on the whole "this is being reported incorrectly" story by the "victim".