Crash scene -what do you do?

[klingon]

Scenario. -Its late at night. You come across a bike accident where there are two people lyiing on the ground.
Crash scene has been secured.
One person is lying face down not moving the other is rolling around a bit and making groaning noise. There are no trained medical people around.
What would you do?

Crash scene has been secured. How thoroughly? By how many people? Are you completely confident that no other vehicle is going to come along (from either direction) and plough into the lot of you? Can you put your bike on the road somewhere visible with its hazards on to stop oncoming traffic? If necessary, do you have other reflective gear you can leave on the road from the other direction - panniers or other gear with reflective strips for example.

If you have someone posted on the road to stop traffic, can they be making the 111 call at the same time you're attending to the victims? If so, do they even know where they are so they can give emergency services an accurate location? (At night on a rural road, a lot of people will have trouble describing where they are.) If there is no cellphone coverage in the area, what's plan B?

Does your helper know that as soon as more people arrive the helper should get one of them to be on traffic duty and everyone else must report to you IMMEDIATELY for further instructions? (You are definitely going to need help monitoring and caring for the injured people.)

Also - there were two people on the ground... how many bikes were there? It's dark. Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that the two people you can see are the only two people involved? Is there another bike in the ditch? Has a pillion been flung over a hedge and are they lying in a paddock badly injured? Get someone with a torch to survey a much wider area.

[FROSTY:Me]

Good stuff merv/klingon.
But a tadd more focussed here.
No possibility of traffic coming from either direction.-single lane road with Vehicles stopped and banked up.
Single bike which has pretty well destroyed itself but is upright and secure
so your main focus is the injured people

[Hitcher]

I know first-hand what most bikers do when encountering a downed biker in their path: they lane-split past, least they arrive late for the start of the racing at Wanganui.

[motorbike.ventures]

Here in the Czech Republic we are required by law to help. We must first call the paramedics in all cases, then check the injured.

And we are required by law to have a first aid kit always with us.... though I guess not all motorcyclists do...

[Crazy Steve]

Check your own saftey 1st..Are you in a Hazard position ? ?

Then Check there wallets for large cash notes..

If you score anything...Leave quickly and quietly..

Crazy Steve..

[Squid]

Like the other more serious ppl have said, make sure you aren't going to add to the hazards on the road by having you bike parked up in a dumb place i.e. Middle of the road. If there is other people around, from cars or whatever, get one of them to call 111. You want to get onto that early as they take time to get to the scene. Again like the others have said tend to the quite one first and if possible get somone else to look at the sceamer.

What was the outcome of the crash?

[FROSTY:Me]

What was the outcome of the crash?

Thanks for asking.
Last I heard rider in serious but stable condition in ICU.
Pillion Critical condition in ICU.
--Im not relative so can't find out more

[jrandom]

What would I do?

Hmm. Immediately kick myself for never taking a first aid course, probably.

Then park up somewhere safe, go over to the downed riders, check airway/breathing/circulation. Fortunately, I have memorised the steps to safe helmet removal if required to establish the above.

Check if any bystanders had already dialled 111 and do it myself if I couldn't confirm that immediately.

Can't think of anything else, really. I doubt I'd be much use in a crash. Then again, a proper bin on a bike can fuck up a human body so much that 'first aid' becomes pretty pointless. How do you administer 'first aid' to someone who has torn-up lungs, smashed bones throughout their body and rampant internal bleeding?

I imagine there's little you can do sometimes but shake your head, hold their hand and wait for the end.

[marty]

i've had a few of these. worst one was a mid-80's commodore with 8 kids in it. driver was pissed and 'p'd, crashed into a pole, killed one, seriously injured the others, then did a runner.

live power lines draped over the car. 2 quiet ones, one dead one, 4 screaming girls bleeding everywhere, and the driver running away...........where do you start?

secure the scene. for your own and others safety. switch ignition off. hope like hell the circuit breaker for the power has popped (and they have already cycled it, popping it for the second time just to confirm) get screamers moved away from the scene. confirm the dead one and cover them up. there is not much apart from stemming blood flow and reassuring while waiting for ems that you can realistically do.

[Squid]

Good that there both alive at least

What caused the prang? Lowside on a corner or what???

[FROSTY:Me]

What caused the prang? Lowside on a corner or what???

If its ok I'd rather not say just now.

[sAsLEX]

hope like hell the circuit breaker for the power has popped (and they have already cycled it, popping it for the second time just to confirm)

Normally its three times not two.....

[old git]

PLEASE,
Go do a first aid course, learn CPR.
I'm a sparkie and they make us do the course every two years, boring as hell and costs you money!!!, and its a pain in the arse that you will probably never use.
BUT...................If you read my rantings from a few weeks ago-- SHIT HAPPENS {less than a week after the CPR course}...........and i was first on the scene, he is now up and about ALIVE and still walking.
I will admit i went to work after it happened, and shook like a F###ing leaf for a while, Hell its a real wake up call, but haven't we all had a prang at some time ?, and sure as hell i want the first person that arrives on the scene to know what to do, coz for every sixty seconds you ain't breathing you stand 10 % less chance of ever doing it again!!!.
So just to be real good to all the other riders, and them to you, GO LEARN, one day you just may save some poor sods life.
And that will make your day as well as Theirs!!!

[BiK3RChiK]

Lots of comfort for the injured is much appreciated too... Ask those who are coherent if they would like you to ring someone for them.

When I was in a serious crash back in the early 90's it was great to see my sister-in-law. The crash scene had been secured by the time she came along, but when she found out it was me in the crash she barged her way through! In the meantime, it was awesome to have strangers put a blanket around me and an arm or two over the shoulders and talk to me. I cannot remember what they said but it all helped!

It's a bit of a shame that those who help out are not able to contact the victim if they aren't family, because I for one would have loved to at least say a big thank you to everyone who assisted me...

Good on you Frosty! +1 Well! I've gotta spread the love!!!


M

[merv]

I know first-hand what most bikers do when encountering a downed biker in their path: they lane-split past, least they arrive late for the start of the racing at Wanganui.

Hmmm - like off the Bulls bridge for example.