Crash scenes. What to do.

[Quasievil]

on a more serious note - why don't more bikers do first aid courses?

Same reason they dont slow the fuck down on the roads.

[Goblin]

The last time I was first on the scene I had no clue what to do. One guy was seriously injured and just lay on the bank, quiet as and sweating. As more people arrived there was one woman who kept saying "I'm a nurse!" I reckon she did more harm than good cos she kept trying to move him, all the while telling everyone "It's ok, I'm a nurse!"
Poor bloke was in agony and every time she poked him he would try and yell but her response "its ok, I'm a nurse!" Ended up telling her to leave him alone and wait for paramedics. Only thing I could do was hold a blanket up to keep the hot sun off him.
When ambo arrived there was only one woman by herself. She eventually realized she couldn't get him to hospital by herself so called for the rescue helicopter. As they were putting him on a stretcher one morbid bitch started taking photos!!!

So in my experience, dont trust the mouthy nurse. She might be a great nurse in a rest home hospital but know nothing about trauma. I mean is it really necessary to poke and prod an injured person to make them scream?

[Devil]

There are a few too many missing parts and vague areas in the original post.

The first thing you need to do on reaching an accident scene is making sure it is safe. Accidents can happen on the shittiest bit of road and having traffic fly around a corner can just add to the problem!

Unconscious people. You need to check breathing first. If they're breathing fine, dont touch them. Dont fuck with people who dont need it.

[motorbyclist]

Do we? And how is it that we know this?

There are a few too many missing parts and vague areas in the original post.

and some downright bullshit thrown in too

humorous, yes in parts, but with a bit of fact thrown in you never know who's going to believe the lot of it.

T I mean is it really necessary to poke and prod an injured person to make them scream?

not in that situation but if you do know what you're doing the emergency services could use your information to send the chopper first rather than a single paramedic - which can make a big difference if someone is losing a lot of blood or time is otherwise a factor

that nurse sounds like a guy who sold a fucked zxr250 to a learner mate of mine - "it's ok i'm an engineer". it wasn't ok or anything near it

[devnull]

we do all realise this is a piss-take right?



on a more serious note - why don't more bikers do first aid courses?

I'd hope so, but then again, I've also seen members of the public do some bloody stupid things at RTC's
(RTC = road traffic crash)

EVERYONE should do a first aid course, not just bikers.
One of the best things you can do is to protect the scene i.e. make it safe. (DO THIS FIRST!)

Get people directing traffic so that others don't get run down, and leave the tourniquets and throat cutting for the movies

[Katman]

Dpex, do you just like the sound of your own voice?

[Storm]

Since we're all putting in our 2c, heres mine-the DRS ABC

1)Danger- to you and others eg casualty-no good turning one stretcher case into two because you charged in willy-nilly. If there are other people present, especially the ones who are wigging out, get them to go up the road/around the bend etc to slow and warn traffic

2)Repsonsiveness-call aloud to them. Tap thier collar bone-the bit where its just under the skin- with a forcefull finger(unless they have obvious injuries)

3) Send for help- send someone to a phone/task them to ring 111. (Pick someone who's in a lucid state and can give a concise description)

4) Airway- check for obstructions. Tilt head back if possible/safe to do so

5) Breathing- is the casualty doing so-however slight? If not consider utilising CPR in order to keep the brain oxygenated. Its doesnt need bugger all o2 to keep someone from becoming a vegetable

6) Circulation-using the press on a fingernail to check capillary refill-ie how quick does blood flow back. Check wioth a quick body search for major bleeds-especially if they are lying on thier back and you cant see under them.

7) Remember three things- anything you can do may help, but if you dont know what you are doing and think that what you could do may seriously bugger someone up, dont do it. You didnt ask to be a trauma nurse/doctor, no-one expects you to be one.

8) Hope like buggery you never have to be in the situation in the first place!!

[devnull]

Since we're all putting in our 2c, heres mine-the DRS ABC

1)Danger- to you and others eg casualty-no good turning one stretcher case into two because you charged in willy-nilly. If there are other people present, especially the ones who are wigging out, get them to go up the road/around the bend etc to slow and warn traffic

2)Repsonsiveness-call aloud to them. Tap thier collar bone-the bit where its just under the skin- with a forcefull finger(unless they have obvious injuries)

3) Send for help- send someone to a phone/task them to ring 111. (Pick someone who's in a lucid state and can give a concise description)

4) Airway- check for obstructions. Tilt head back if possible/safe to do so

5) Breathing- is the casualty doing so-however slight? If not consider utilising CPR in order to keep the brain oxygenated. Its doesnt need bugger all o2 to keep someone from becoming a vegetable

6) Circulation-using the press on a fingernail to check capillary refill-ie how quick does blood flow back. Check wioth a quick body search for major bleeds-especially if they are lying on thier back and you cant see under them.

7) Remember three things- anything you can do may help, but if you dont know what you are doing and think that what you could do may seriously bugger someone up, dont do it. You didnt ask to be a trauma nurse/doctor, no-one expects you to be one.

8) Hope like buggery you never have to be in the situation in the first place!!

Not bad...

A couple of points though

Head tilt? A technique called a modified jaw thrust is preferred, which is lifting the jaw forward from the angle of the jaw. Learn it, in a classroom, before you need it.

Circulation - peripheral circulation shuts down very quickly. You only need to determine if there is a pulse, and is there life-threatening bleeding (in which case, you'd use direct pressure to control it)

There's quite a lot of practical skills, which can't be conveyed on a message board, that are involved in basic emergency care. The only way to acquire those skills is to do a course, and practise

[vifferman]

I've never been on the scene of an accident (apart from a few of my own), and I'd be next to useless, despite having some first-aid training. I go into shock very easily (yes, I know what it is - I'm not just being dramatic!), more so - strangely enough - when it's someone else who's suffering. I dunno how much help I'd actually be, so knowing stuff and being able to put it into practice are two different things. It's different when you do this stuff every day for a living, and can be logical, calm and unemotional about it.

My last "oops" was luckily fairly minor, and I was also lucky that two passers-by were trained medical professionals, one a doctor, and one a nurse, one on their way to work, and one coming off shift. They were there within what seemed like milliseconds of the crash, and the WAAAAAHmbulance was there some minutes laters. The Trained Medical Professionals did almost NOTHING while waiting for the Other More Suitably Trained Medical professionals to arrive: they asked me some questions, made sure I was in as little discomfort as possible, and that I didn't move. I'm sure that unless I needed CPR, or was majorly leaking, they wouldn't have done much more. Still, it was very reassuring to have them there, to be told by them who they were, in a matter-of-fact and calm manner. The paramedics were great too. Things only fell apart somewhat when I arrived at D'Auckland Hospital (this was while it was being renovated). It took HOURS before I was checked, x-rayed, jabbed and hobbled white-faced out the door. During those hours, I spent a lot of time lying half-clad on a gurney in the hallway or another hallway. Our "health care" system needs a serious amount of money spent on it. Like most (all?) gummint departments, it has a surfeit of (mostly useless) bureaucrats, and a severe shortage of funds and equipment.

[Toaster]

Anyone else get bored reading all that?

[Toaster]

And keep ya bloody pen to yourself!

[vifferman]

Anyone else get bored reading all that?

Well... I do get bored easily, so I just skimmed the posts.
Speaking of bored, is it just me, or has KB become REALLY boring lately?
I'm not super busy at work, so I need it to be more entertaining.

[Katman]

Last thing I want is some moron hacking away at my throat with a piece of broken rear view mirror and inserting a length of radiator overflow hose because he read somewhere on KB that it was the thing to do.

[Murray]

Well... I do get bored easily, so I just skimmed the posts.
Speaking of bored, is it just me, or has KB become REALLY boring lately?
I'm not super busy at work, so I need it to be more entertaining.

Need some more smartarse comments on it like "its only got boring since you are not busy and have been posting more"

[devnull]

Last thing I want is some moron hacking away at my throat with a piece of broken rear view mirror and inserting a length of radiator overflow hose because he read it somewhere on KB.

He might not be doing it to save you... you might've just pissed him off with some of your posts


On a more serious note, I'm an ex-ambo, which means I don't regularly practice the skills used any more.

I'll do enough to keep the victim alive until those that DO practice those skills turn up.

That means basic life support. That's it. Not roadside brain surgery.

Then I'll piss off to the pub with the loose change the victim had in their pockets (if you want good service, carry enough for beer)