Trubie Posted May 29, 2010 Share Big thumbs up to all involved in organizing this.Was great having you guys out there this morning!Keep up the good work. /images/stories/helivac.JPGOn Saturday 29 May Helivac Medical Helicopter Services is rolling out the Helivac Safe Cycling Initiative in collaboration with THINK BIKE. A number of pro cyclists will join social cyclists at 07:00 on a training ride from Alberton's well-known Swartkoppies Road/Klipriver Drive cycling route to highlight the promotion of safety in the sport.The THINK BIKE marshalls will escort cyclists on their training rides through the south of Johannesburg in order to assist with traffic flow, to patrol bike-jacking hot spots and to manage any incidents that might happen on the road. According to Helivac?s JP van Tonder, this initiative will be a permanent feature on every weekend going forward.SIGN-UP FOR HELIVAC?Cycling fatalities and injuries continue to be unacceptably high and although we cannot prevent every accident that occurs, we are determined to minimise the incidences wherever we can and provide medical support in the crucial first hour after the accident,? said Van Tonder. ?To this end, we have partnered with eBlockwatch, who will be our source of response for any attempted bike jacking, while Helivac will be responsible for any medical response required.?Over the past few months Helivac?s focus has been more specifically directed towards road-associated sports as this is the most common area in which accidents take place. ?This initiative has included partnering with the SAPS to patrol certain major cycling routes over weekend periods and it has assisted in reducing the number of muggings which commonly take place on these routes,? Van Tonder said.?In addition, our paramedics patrol the routes during peak activity periods to attend to injuries. While this campaign is currently concentrated in the south of Johannesburg, plans are in place to start rolling it out to biking routes identified as ?critical? in all other areas around Johannesburg,? Van Rooyen concluded.ABOUT HELIVAC:Helivac Medical Helicopter Services is the first subscriber-driven, advanced medical rescue product in South Africa to require no medical aid subscription or authorisation. Helivac delivers doctors, paramedics and advanced medical equipment to the scene of an emergency by helicopter in order to treat and then medically transport a seriously ill or injured patient to a trauma centre.Helivac makes use of state of the art, medically dedicated helicopters and experienced, medical evacuation-orientated flight crews. The Helivac teams are selected from highly qualified and experienced medical personnel. The teams are also aero-medically orientated, and have completed the necessary SA CAT OPS 138 training as required by the SA Civil Aviation Authority.ABOUT THINK BIKE:The Think Bike Campaign now has in excess of 800 paid-up members, over 3 600 forum contributors, dozens of sponsors and has to date distributed over 180 000 leaflets, over 160 000 bumper stickers, and reached literally thousands of motorcyclists and motorists with its message of safety for.The campaign, while strongest in Gauteng, has representation in Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, Natal and the Free State. It has dozens of trained marshals available for various events such as the 94.7 Classic Cycle race, The Argus Cycle Tour and is deeply involved in numerous other projects such as the annual Toy Run.This campaign is intended to help educate the general public about safety issues surrounding motorbike and bicycle riders, without pointing fingers or accusing anyone of negligence. It is also aimed at educating the biking and cycling community on safety issues and encouraging the use of protective clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammajoor Posted May 29, 2010 Share Great initiative .... keep us posted, just as an aside maybe your could get Sign Up on board too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trubie Posted May 29, 2010 Share Would that mean I would get my own bike marshall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclewizz Posted May 29, 2010 Share Trubie, did you guys on the short also have Marshall's ? On the long loop we had 2/3 bikes riding next to the group, the stayed with the bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trubie Posted May 29, 2010 Share http://www.procycling.co.za/index.php/features/helivac/79-safe-cycling-initiative-launched-by-helivac#go check out some of the pics of this mornings ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trubie Posted May 29, 2010 Share Trubie' date=' did you guys on the short also have Marshall's ?On the long loop we had 2/3 bikes riding next to the group, the stayed with the bunch.[/quote'] we did indeed have two marshalls the whole way yessome vehicles too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frail4Life Posted May 29, 2010 Share Excellent, good work. Waiting for some good effort to come from Cape Town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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