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Being in an accident is something we all do our best to prevent, but it is far less easy to take precautions against inadvertently becoming part of one. Bearing witness to or being the first to arrive at an accident scene can be as traumatic as being involved one’s self, as it is not always easy to know how best to help in cases where victims have experienced trauma.

In some cases, our natural instinct to help those in pain is overridden by a fear of doing something wrong or perhaps accidentally making things worse, leaving many accident witnesses feeling helpless or paralysed with fear.

While the majority of us are not able to provide much in the way of medical assistance, there are a few key actions we can all take in the event of an accident to assist those in need.

Here are a few tips to bear in mind should you find yourself in this unenviable situation:

Provide reassurance

If the victim is conscious and responsive, your first step is to provide comfort and reassurance. Assure them that help is on its way and that you are there to assist until the professionals arrive. It is also important that you do your best to keep them immobile, as excess movement can end up worsening their injuries.

Ask for consent

Before providing any type of assistance, it is vital that you acquire consent from the victim. There are three types of consent, namely: informed consent, expressed permission and implied consent. In cases where the victim is lucid and able to speak, they must provide verbal consent for you to assist them, whereas expressed permission is given by signalling in the affirmative (in cases where the person in question is unable to speak). If the victim is unconscious and there are no family members or friends present at the scene, consent is considered implied and you should immediately do your best to assist.

Top up on information

If possible, try your best to get as much medical information from the victim as possible, as this will help paramedics to treat them more swiftly and effectively. It is wise to ask whether the victim has any medical history that could be beneficial for paramedics to know, and ascertain whether there are any allergies or medications they are taking, which could influence treatment. If you are able, try to establish the cause of the accident, and get an idea of the signs and symptoms they might be experiencing.  The more information you can give paramedics upon arrival, the quicker they can begin to administer treatment.

Where possible, try your best to verify information via documents like IDs or drivers’ licenses, as this will also greatly assist paramedics, who will ultimately need proof of identity.

Play detective

When confronted with more challenging scenes in which the victim is unconscious and unaccompanied, your first step should be to try to find some type of identification, in the form of a bag, wallet, medical bracelet or driver’s license. Should this be unsuccessful, try to retrieve the victim’s phone, and call someone on their contact list to acquire the necessary medical information.

Don’t play doctor

While you might have watched hundreds of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, this does not mean you are qualified to provide treatment to someone in need of serious help. Unless you have undergone first aid training, your best bet is to call emergency services and do your best to keep the victim calm and still until they arrive.

Stay safe

Chances are, you might be confronted with a scene involving an intoxicated victim, in which case you might be putting yourself in peril. Inebriated accident victims can be violent and the situation can become complicated should you try to involve yourself. Remember, while your natural instinct will be to provide help, it is always important to protect yourself first. Should you suspect that the victim in question is under the influence, rather call law enforcement and await their arrival.

By Nthabiseng Moloi, MiWay Head of Marketing & Brand.

“Allow us to take care of your doors and PVC strip curtains’ service requirements before winter is here so that you can focus on your core business,” advises Bram Janssen, Managing Director of door and loading dock solutions specialist, Maxiflex.

There are both safety and cost saving arguments around the regular servicing of doors and PVC strip curtains. Even the best quality, most robust and well-engineered doors and strip curtains require regular servicing and maintenance. Irrespective of the industry, a defective door or broken or scratched strip curtain can present unsafe working conditions, lead to reduced productivity and production losses as well as replacement or repair costs. Regular service and maintenance are key to ensuring that doors stay in good safe working order and function optimally and that strip curtains efficiently control the internal climate.

Heavy traffic flow of people, goods and services puts doors under pressure and components have to work literally thousands of times per day. Even the smallest component, if not maintained or replaced in time, can lead to door failure. Incorrecttension on the spring of an overhead sectional door in a dock loading application for example, will affect the counter-balance of the weight of the door blade. In addition to an unsafe situation, failure to open can lead to dispatch delays.

PVC Strip curtains do a great job of separating areas for temperature control and energy savings but they eventually need to be replaced due to natural wear and tear over time. Scratches on the surface can limit visibility or strips that have lost their transparency can pose a safety risk particularly in areas with two-way traffic. Air escapes through cracked or broken strips which has a diverse effect on climate control driving up energy consumption.

Maxiflex offers two replacement options to take care of worn strip curtains: PVC Bulk Rolls or full length PVC rolls, and individual PVC Replacement Strips. PVC Bulk Rolls are the most economical purchase but requires time and effort to cut the strips to length and prepare the mounting holes at the top of the strip. Individual PVC Replacement Strips are sold by the metre. Although less economical, this completely customisable option allows the customer to order the exact number of strips required rather than a complete roll and is recommended where fewer strips are required.

As the sole distributer for ASSA ABLOY Entrance Solutions in the Sub-Sahara African region, Maxiflex offers a variety of flexible service options on their range of doors that range from regular maintenance visits throughout the year, safety, compliance and quality control checks as well as 24/7 priority service delivered by highly-trained, skilled technicians. Maxiflex technicians attend regular training to keep abreast of the latest technology, tooling and service techniques.

Efficient and innovative fleet management can save businesses the costs of the recent VAT and fuel levy increases.

Executive Head for Standard Bank Fleet Management, Derick de Vries, says the increase in VAT to 15% from 14% is seen as a high cost to bear – but this can be comfortably offset via a comprehensive managed plan which harnesses predictive data.

“Fleet owners are facing a multitude of additional costs and also hidden costs they are not even aware of. The solution lies in harnessing the existing data they possess to dramatically save costs and enhance business efficiencies,” he says.

For instance, Standard Bank Vehicle and Asset Finance (VAF) research into a fleet company with 50 vehicles, shows that they have saved R14 006 in April as a result of Standard Bank analyzing their existing fuel spend patterns and converting them to one of their suitable fuel alliances where the customer is now saving R0.53 a litre on Diesel.

“By managing the way it consumes diesel through one of Standard Bank’s Alliance partners, the R0.53 saving per litre trumps the R0.52 increase in the fuel and RAF levies during April. The overall saving of R14,006 far outweighs the R62 more someone with 50 vehicles in this example would pay in fees after the VAT increase,” says De Vries.

More impressive savings are possible when a more comprehensive managed plan in switched on. For instance, Standard Bank researched the impact of its managed maintenance offering for a large fleet of over 3,000 vehicles before and after VAT increases and compared this with someone who did not have this solution in place.

“We noted savings of R1.084 million over a three-month period (Jan – Mar) for this client as a result of properly managing their maintenance says De Vries.

Businesses are operating in an increasingly complex environment and need to improve their understanding of the trends shaping the industry to stay a step ahead – or get left behind.

“The currency plays an important role, as 70-80% of vehicle parts get imported. Managing this part of the business is therefore essential. But an over-arching will look at the currency as just one component – it drills down to minutiae like the costs of brake pads and fuel per litre,” says De Vries.

Standard Bank VAF research shows that the saving as a result of utilizing managed maintenance is significantly more than what the customer pays in fees, before and after the VAT increase. It is also significantly more than the increased amount of VAT the customer would have paid for the actual service or repair due to the increase from 14% to 15%.

Pricing and timing are crucial to the longevity of a fleet business – and switching to a reliable product that assist in predicting key trends will help companies go the distance – no matter the market conditions.

But De Vries says most businesses are not yet realizing the full potential in the “goldmine” of data they are sitting on.

“Data analytics provides insights into an entire fleet and then granular detail on product prices which can be way too high and need to be managed,” says De Vries.

The move to adopting fleet cards is another way to reduce fraud – a major bugbear for fleet owners. Standard Bank has pioneered advances in the authorization of fleet card transactions and currently services over 50% of the fleet card market.

“We have found that most fraud comes from driver abuse, but properly managing this with fleet cards totally changes the picture. We have, for instance, declined over R440m in transactions during 2017 as potentially fraudulent on our cards, which is a direct saving for companies that were getting ripped off,” says De Vries.

According to De Vries, the vehicle sector is at a critical juncture, raising the bar for companies to understand and manage the trends taking shape.

“Some green shoots for economic growth are sprouting – but it is not enough to drive growth forward in the fleet industry. Fleet companies will have to find other ways to expand. One of the best levers right now is to rescue as many costs as possible. Harnessing the tools and innovations based on big data is the best way to go,” he says.

Commenting on the new vehicle sales statistics for the month of May, 2018 – the NAAMSA said that the latest vehicle sales and export numbers had continued in line with general industry expectations. In the event new vehicle sales at 42984 had shown an improvement of 1022 vehicles or 2,4% from the 41962 vehicles sold in May last year. May, 2018 aggregate export sales at 32731 vehicles reflected an improvement of 3982 units or a gain of 13,9% compared to the 28749 vehicles exported in May last year.

Overall, out of the total reported Industry sales of 42984 vehicles, an estimated 37370 units or 87,0% represented dealer sales, an estimated 7,3% represented sales to the vehicle rental Industry, 3,7% to industry corporate fleets and 2% to government.

The May, 2018 new car market at 26561 units had registered a marginal improvement of 179 cars or a gain of 0,7% compared to the 26382 new cars sold in May last year. Seasonal factors continued to affect the car rental industry contribution which had accounted for about 9,8% of new car sales in May, 2018.

Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini buses had improved modestly and at 13977 units during May, 2018 had registered a gain of 434 vehicles or 3,2 % compared to the 13543 light commercial vehicles sold during the corresponding month last year.

Sales in the low volume medium and heavy truck segments of the Industry had rebounded strongly and at 694 units and 1752 units, respectively, had recorded an increase of 104 vehicles or a gain of 17,6%, in the case of medium commercial vehicles, and, in the case of heavy trucks and buses, a sharp improvement of 305 vehicles or a gain of 21,1% compared to the corresponding month last year.

The improved truck sales figures suggested the return of positive investment sentiment and business confidence.

NAAMSA’s expectations going forward remained unchanged, namely, new vehicle sales should show a gradual improvement over the medium term due to further recovery in domestic demand supported by continued moderation in new vehicle price inflation, the improvement in South Africa’s political and policy environment, the March, 2018 reduction in interest rates and unchanged international credit ratings. As a result of these developments, supported by improved business and consumer confidence, a modest recovery in economic growth in 2018 and 2019 was anticipated. This in turn would benefit domestic new vehicle sales over the balance of the year and an annual improvement in domestic sales volumes of 3% plus compared to 2017 was possible.

Robust global growth should benefit new vehicle exports going forward. However, the current wave of protectionism could negatively impact on the global economy. Despite this, exports should show further upward momentum in the months ahead.