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Two Metro Police constables were called on to assist with the birth of a baby along the N2 yesterday morning.

Constables Ian Boer and Jacobus Prins were at the Shell garage near Macassar when they were approached by a motorist who informed them that his wife had gone into labour. Upon investigation, the officers realised that there wouldn’t be enough time to escort the couple to hospital.

Constable Boer assisted the mom-to-be by guiding her through the birthing process. Within a matter of minutes, the baby was born and the officers saw that the baby was responsive. During this time, Constable Prins had also called an ambulance to transport the mother and baby to the Macassar Day Hospital.

The incident comes just days after traffic officer Kevin Baker cut a path through rush-hour traffic to get another mom-to-be to Karl Bremer Hospital in time to deliver her baby.

‘We’ve had three instances in recent months where enforcement staff members have helped in some way or another with the birth of babies and they all ended on a happy note. These stories warm the heart, because it shows the willingness of staff to help residents in need and counters the often unfair perception that exists about the uniformed services,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.

Elsewhere, the Traffic Service conducted a number of roadblocks throughout the city and arrested 46 suspects, of which 40 were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, four were arrested for outstanding warrants, and two for possession of a stolen vehicle. Eight of those arrested for drunk driving were taxi drivers. The City’s Law Enforcement Department also confiscated nearly 600 litres of alcohol from beaches and other public spaces over the weekend.

‘In recent months, we’ve stopped numerous drivers with extraordinarily high levels of alcohol in their system. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, a taxi driver was stopped in Philippi on Saturday and provided a breath sample that was 18 times the legal limit – a new record.  Several other drivers were well over the legal limit. The results are disappointing, considering all of the awareness and education around drinking and driving that is done. What’s more concerning is the fact that many of these arrests were made during daylight hours, including early morning,’ added Alderman Smith.

In a drag-racing operation that was conducted in the Athlone area on Saturday 16 December 2017, the Ghost Squad arrested 13 suspects: five for driving under the influence of alcohol, five for reckless and negligent driving, one for resisting arrest, one for failing to comply with a lawful instruction and one for bribery. Officers also issued 60 fines for various other offences.

As part of Operation Exodus, a total of 538 buses, midi-buses and minibus-taxis have undergone roadworthy tests, with a pass rate of 82 percent. The Traffic Services Department has also recorded nearly 15 000 transgressions at vehicle checkpoints linked to Operation Exodus.

‘The next few days will be crucial as people head home for the holidays, so I appeal to public transport operators to make use of the opportunity afforded to them through Operation Exodus and to have their vehicles checked for roadworthiness for peace of mind for themselves and their passengers,’ said Alderman Smith.

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