FleetWatch often comes across bakkies and trucks on the road which are carrying gas bottles without the necessary hazchem decals displayed. Obviously, the people in these vehicles are not trained or qualified in the transport of Dangerous Goods. If they were, they would be doing it properly. Guaranteed none of them have a PrDP ‘D’ Category license.
Ever since an uncle of mine experienced a horrible accident many years ago when a small gas bottle exploded and blew up his lovely park home, I have been very aware of the dangers of these seemingly safe and harmless ‘cannisters’. Without taking the correct precautions and care around the handling and transport of gas bottles, they can be deadly.
It was thus when a saw two guys from Reatile Gaz loading cylinders in a Fourways shopping mall parking lot, I went over to have a chat to them and was most impressed with the high level of knowledge they had in the handling of these potential bombs. The driver was also well aware of the high level of responsibility which resided in his hands when out on the road.
This became evident when one of the security car guards saw us all chatting and came across to join in. The driver explained to him the dangers associated with transporting gas bottles and went into great detail on how they should be handled and transported. We all had a good chat and it was all the right stuff.
Now let’s look at why I am highlighting this. There’s nothing like ‘reality’ to emphasis a point and to do so, we publish the accompanying video of a truck which was hauling gas bottles on a highway. It crashed. Note the resultant chaos. Note too how those cylinders explode and blow their ‘shrapnel’ all over. It’s really scary.
So to all cops out there, the next time you see a bakkie or a truck transporting gas bottles without the necessary decals and expertise, haul it off the road. It’s a potential bomb. And to any company or individual hauling gas bottles – in fact, any Dangerous Goods – without the necessary qualifications and requirements, stop it.
