Paramedic warns of dangers of reckless driving

A Gauteng paramedic who has seen countless road traumas says people must take more care when driving.

Shakeel Dawson, who is an advanced life support paramedic for the provincial department of health, has witnessed people being injured and losing their lives due to recklessness on the roads and drinking while driving.

“Respecting the rules of the roads is common sense because it has dire consequences."

Dawson said that some of the negative impacts of reckless driving result in death and trauma.

Dawson, from Benoni on the East Rand, has been in the Emergency Medical Services field for over 28 years.

He said that it is not only the crash scenes and the fatalities that paramedics deal with that are upsetting, but also the after-effects of the consequences of reckless driving. “It’s also the patient’s family that we need to deal with; by having to explain how the patient lost their life,” said Dawson.

He said reckless driving affects so many people. “Sometimes a driver who caused the accident survives the crash, but goes through a lot mentally."

Dawson said that it not just an accident scene, but an alteration to another human’s life. He pleaded with motorists to wear their seatbelts and make sure their vehicles are roadworthy.

Pedestrians, on the other hand, must wear bright-coloured clothes or a reflective jacket at night and limit walking on the highway, instead make use of bridges.

If you would like to be a paramedic, Dawson advises that you must be physically and mentally fit.

He said paramedics are trained to perform medical rescue and to take care of patients in the ambulance, while they are transferred to or between hospitals.

Dawson said being an emergency worker is rewarding, but it can take a toll on one’s mental strength, because of the tragedy that is witnessed. He, however, said that they do debrief after being at the accident scene and talk about what they have witnessed.

He said there are three types of paramedics in SA.

• Basic life support paramedics are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is commonly known as CPR. This is an emergency lifesaving technique performed when the heart stops beating. They also are trained to stop heavy bleeding and can deliver babies.

• Intermediate life support paramedics can administer all the elements of basic life support, can insert a drip, provide shock treatment and do chest decompressions when a patient is struggling to breathe.

• The duties of an advanced life support paramedic, such as Dawson, include basic and intermediate life support. Furthermore, they can assist people who have heart conditions and are authorised to administer medication and injections.

– This article first appeared in GCIS's Vuk'uzenzele