While driving along a country road I happened upon an accident that had just occurred. A van had tipped on its side, an injured woman lay in the road moaning loudly; evidently other occupants of the van stood idly by, and a lone policeman was directing traffic around the wreckage. There were two other cars that had stopped to render assistance. The policeman waved me on, but to be sure that I covered my obligations I asked him if he wanted my help. Having been told no, I continued on.
Road users have a duty in law to stop and to render assistance to an accident scene unless excused. Failure to do so could result in prosecution. This is an obligation that I take seriously because if it is my turn to need help I can only expect to receive it if I am prepared to do my best for my fellow travellers.
To know First-Aid is a good idea anyway for the sake of our own families. The situation on the road can lead to some awful accident sites where every ounce of such knowledge can be tested. Even jaded ambulance teams can be shocked by what they encounter, yet by law ordinary members of the motoring public are expected to take action to intervene.
What does one do should one encounter a scene where there are multiple injured. Essentially this would involve practising triage, something medical personnel say they hate to have to do. Triage is the determination of which injured person needs attention first. Lay opinion is divided, but if the person is demanding attention very loudly, he’s living and probably not in danger of expiring right away.
Conventional wisdom suggests some commonsense things to do, and just as important not to do upon arriving on the scene of an accident:
- In the case of an injured person wearing a crash helmet, unless the helmet is actually strangling the person to death, it should not be handled at all by the first-aider.
- The injured person must not be given anything by mouth.
- The crash site should not be modified by persons attending, except to prevent further injury, damage or another crash.
- Do nothing to cause secondary injuries, such as moving the injured person simply to make them more comfortable. Spinal injures could result through improper handling.
- Do not directly touch a person’s open wounds.
The list of things to do in accident site management is seemingly endless. The first thing to do, in my opinion is that when stopping to help, make certain that your own vehicle is parked so as not to be the cause of another crash. (Did you ever see someone’s haphazardly parked car at some weird angle, with the driver’s door wide open.) Activate your hazard lights.
Secondly, make sure to wear your reflective jacket, day or night. This includes motorcyclists. Thirdly, I would call for emergency help just based on my initial observations before I began working with the injured. Once that process begins I would need to concentrate on my patient.
Many people believe that the first fifteen minutes of arrival of the first persons on the scene are golden because this is the period when a person’s life can be saved and his condition stabilized, and secondary injuries can be prevented through proper protocol. However, it's important to keep in mind that we are administering only First-Aid. We are not required to function as paramedics, nor as doctors. I was always taught that in assessing an injured person to follow the A-B-C guidelines.
A: Check for a clear Airway and loosen clothing that might cause a restriction around the throat. Such as neckties, scarves, unbutton the first and possibly the second button of the shirt.
B: Check for Breathing. Lack of breathing requires assisted breathing techniques, i.e. mouth-to-mouth. Here would also be a good time to check for a pulse.
C: Consciousness. Although presented to me in this order, (ABC) I would actually check for consciousness first. I think the idea was that these are the three things to check for and are easy to remember as ABC. However, if we don’t check first whether the person is conscious we might get half way through doing the other two things only to be shocked by the person ask loudly, “ what are you doing?”
Clearly, having to provide road-side assistance of this sort is a grave responsibility. In Spain we are commanded by law to carry out Good Samaritan principles. We can only do our best.. One more important point: always protect a lady’s modesty!
Death on the roads? It doesn’t have to end like that!
Don´t overtake on two-way road systems.. Save your life for those who love you.
Road users have a duty in law to stop and to render assistance to an accident scene unless excused. Failure to do so could result in prosecution. This is an obligation that I take seriously because if it is my turn to need help I can only expect to receive it if I am prepared to do my best for my fellow travellers.
To know First-Aid is a good idea anyway for the sake of our own families. The situation on the road can lead to some awful accident sites where every ounce of such knowledge can be tested. Even jaded ambulance teams can be shocked by what they encounter, yet by law ordinary members of the motoring public are expected to take action to intervene.
What does one do should one encounter a scene where there are multiple injured. Essentially this would involve practising triage, something medical personnel say they hate to have to do. Triage is the determination of which injured person needs attention first. Lay opinion is divided, but if the person is demanding attention very loudly, he’s living and probably not in danger of expiring right away.
Conventional wisdom suggests some commonsense things to do, and just as important not to do upon arriving on the scene of an accident:
- In the case of an injured person wearing a crash helmet, unless the helmet is actually strangling the person to death, it should not be handled at all by the first-aider.
- The injured person must not be given anything by mouth.
- The crash site should not be modified by persons attending, except to prevent further injury, damage or another crash.
- Do nothing to cause secondary injuries, such as moving the injured person simply to make them more comfortable. Spinal injures could result through improper handling.
- Do not directly touch a person’s open wounds.
The list of things to do in accident site management is seemingly endless. The first thing to do, in my opinion is that when stopping to help, make certain that your own vehicle is parked so as not to be the cause of another crash. (Did you ever see someone’s haphazardly parked car at some weird angle, with the driver’s door wide open.) Activate your hazard lights.
Secondly, make sure to wear your reflective jacket, day or night. This includes motorcyclists. Thirdly, I would call for emergency help just based on my initial observations before I began working with the injured. Once that process begins I would need to concentrate on my patient.
Many people believe that the first fifteen minutes of arrival of the first persons on the scene are golden because this is the period when a person’s life can be saved and his condition stabilized, and secondary injuries can be prevented through proper protocol. However, it's important to keep in mind that we are administering only First-Aid. We are not required to function as paramedics, nor as doctors. I was always taught that in assessing an injured person to follow the A-B-C guidelines.
A: Check for a clear Airway and loosen clothing that might cause a restriction around the throat. Such as neckties, scarves, unbutton the first and possibly the second button of the shirt.
B: Check for Breathing. Lack of breathing requires assisted breathing techniques, i.e. mouth-to-mouth. Here would also be a good time to check for a pulse.
C: Consciousness. Although presented to me in this order, (ABC) I would actually check for consciousness first. I think the idea was that these are the three things to check for and are easy to remember as ABC. However, if we don’t check first whether the person is conscious we might get half way through doing the other two things only to be shocked by the person ask loudly, “ what are you doing?”
Clearly, having to provide road-side assistance of this sort is a grave responsibility. In Spain we are commanded by law to carry out Good Samaritan principles. We can only do our best.. One more important point: always protect a lady’s modesty!
Death on the roads? It doesn’t have to end like that!
Don´t overtake on two-way road systems.. Save your life for those who love you.
Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael
