Very often I have seen ignorant people acting in a hurry in attempting to recover a vehicle after an accident. They then do the wrong thing at the wrong time with the wrong equipment, causing much more damage.
The vehicle is damaged in any case, and waiting a little longer to get it recovered will not do any harm. Proper planning, waiting for the correct equipment to arrive and following the correct procedure can prevent further damage and make life much easier for the victims.
On a recent trip to the Transkei we were travelling on a seldom used road to Waterfall Bluff. It had rained a lot and deep tracks were left in the mud by trucks. When it became drier, the ruts were very deep and driving became quite a challenge.
Two big bromvo?ls were walking close to the road and distracted our attention.
We were driving in convoy at about 35 km/h. Suddenly the front wheels of a brand new Hilux left the ruts. The rear wheels stayed in them, causing the vehicle to turn sideways. A rear tyre came off the rim and the unavoidable happened. The double cab rolled onto its roof. Fortunately the occupants were wearing their safety belts and nobody was injured.
Now this is where the real lesson starts. What to do next? There were a lot of people in the group and the strong young men just wanted to get the vehicle back on its wheels.
After the occupants were out and safe, we first inspected the scene around the vehicle and found a camera and a GPS that had been flung out. The Hilux would have crushed them had it been rolled back on its wheels. Then a big rock was removed that could have caused more damage.