A new app, founded by innovator Simon Hough, will change the way cyclists, runners and other sports enthusiasts go about their training. With the recent spike in crime around hiking and cycling trails in Cape Town, it is a welcomed initiative.
The app, call Sec-U-Med, offers its users a dedicated service for mechanical breakdowns, medical emergencies and can provide help in the event that a user is attacked.
Currently, the app only covers the Durbanville area, but soon, another 10 trail sites will be included.
In case of an emergency, the user pushes the Sec-U-Med button on the app or the button on the wrist-worn device linked to the app. Sec-U-Med is also fitted with a tracking device which, when activated, will keep track of the user’s location to dispatch emergency services to the user quicker.
The app was developed for cycling enthusiasts by cycling enthusiasts. It works along with mySOS, a smartphone application that could serve as a “one-stop-shop” solution for access to the closest and most appropriate emergency services in South Africa, and Bassett Burglar Alarms.
The service costs R149 per month for unlimited coverage, and non-members will pay R179 per month.
“It has been our experience that too many riders suffer injury and are then unable to call for help, sometimes with serious consequences. Sadly, criminal activity in our area is also on the increase, and many riders have been attacked for wallets, cellphones, and expensive biking equipment,” the official Sec-U-Med site reads.
Following the recent spate of attacks on cyclists and hikers, the cycling community has expressed anxiety and fear about safety on trails in not just Cape Town, but South Africa at large.
“Sadly, criminal activity in our area is also on the increase, and many riders have been attacked for wallets, cellphones, and expensive biking equipment,” the site states.
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