City fits ‘safety seats’ on conservation vehicles

By Ofentse Mokae
24 November 2009

The City of Cape Town has fitted ‘safety seats’ on six of its nature conservation vehicles.

The seats are used at its 24 nature reserves across the Cape metropole.

In an interview with the station the city’s Reserve Manager in the Blaauwberg Conservation Area Jacques Küyler, says the seats will improve safety for their staff.

“These specialised seats will improve the safety of our staff who often travel on the back of open vehicles on gravel roads,” Küyler said.

The welded tubular frame with three roll bars of 76mm tubing fits a light delivery vehicle (LDV) with a long wheel base.

Each frame has four individual chairs on each side and each chair has a four-point safety belt system.

The frames are covered with rip stop canvas which is dust and water resistant, and easy to remove.

The City’s Biodiversity Management Branch manages 24 nature reserves across the metro-pole, which contain some of the last remaining critically threatened biodiversity in Cape Town.

The reserves include, amongst others, these well known reserves; Blaauwberg Conservation Area, Rietvlei, Rondevlei, Zandvlei and Helderberg.

“The safety frame has been designed to suit the operational requirements of the nature conservation staff,” added Küyler.

Küyler says they hope that the retrofitting of the vehicles will set an example for other City departments to follow suit.