Crash scene -what do you do?

[James Deuce]

I've seen the "emergency services" send one bloke out in an ambulance to multi vehicle pile up. This moron won't offer to help anymore then.

Cool.

I am getting on and my back is a bit dodgy.

[FROSTY:Me]

Oh!, and FFS don't interfere with anything from the emergency services when they do arrive!!! Seen this heaps of times from morons who think they are 'helping'!!

Yup thats me --Just another moron

[Bikernereid]

You are never a moron by helping anyone in pain or distress!!! You deserve so much respect for taking the time to help strangers when you could have just left them to fend for themselves!!!!!!!

Yup thats me --Just another moron

[BiK3RChiK]

You took it all wrong! What I meant was if they bring stuff out of the ambulance and put it aside, then don't move it! The ambulance officer turns around to pick it up and it's gone!!! Heard many a complaint from them about people who are trying to 'help' and making things worse...

[FROSTY:Me]

I must say I stand in awe of the people who can do this sort of thing day in and day out. The ambos,triage staff,police and fire crews.
These guys n gals are frigging amazing

[R1madness]

Neck injurys are a difficult thing to diagnose on the side of the road even for a trained professional. So, if i am lying there not breathing and still have a helmet on please remove it asap and give me some mouth to mouth so i have a chance of living. (even if if is in a wheelchair forever). Better a chair than a box i think.

[FROSTY:Me]

Neck injurys are a difficult thing to diagnose on the side of the road even for a trained professional. So, if i am lying there not breathing and still have a helmet on please remove it asap and give me some mouth to mouth so i have a chance of living. (even if if is in a wheelchair forever). Better a chair than a box i think.

Thanks a million dude--This EXACT senario has been going round and round in my head since saturday night.
The guy to the best of my knowledge wasn't breathing. Fluttery pulse.
2 decisions I made 1-Turned him over with help after looking at his back
and 2) removing his helmet. -He was blue in the face with blood running out of his mouth.I thought He'd swallowed his tounge
Helmet off ,head supported he started breathing again on his own--kinda explosive first breath
Shit scared I made matters worse to be honest

[Mikkel]

Oh!, and FFS don't interfere with anything from the emergency services when they do arrive!!! Seen this heaps of times from morons who think they are 'helping'!!

Well, in the case that the emergency services work the way they should you are right. Alas, sometimes that is indeed not the case.

I've seen the "emergency services" send one bloke out in an ambulance to multi vehicle pile up. This moron won't offer to help anymore then.

My uncle works as an ambulance driver and general rescue worker. On several occasions he's gotten into trouble with the management because he told them to get stuffed and thought for himself. E.g. at one point he was being allocated an unsuitable vehicle for a certain accident by the young pretty girl taking calls behind the counter. He said fuck that and took the vehicle that suited the task. His boss called him in afterwards and told him off, warning him that he risked being fired for insubordination.
Next time he was being allocated the wrong vehicle he said "it's not gonna cut it", they insisted, he shrugged and took the one he was told to take, drove out to the accident scene, had a chat to the people out there, called back to the central, was told to come back and take the vehicle that would do the job, went and did the job. Was then called in by his boss and was told off for doing what he was told when he well knew that it wouldn't work.

WTF can you do?

[klingon]

Thanks a million dude--This EXACT senario has been going round and round in my head since saturday night.
The guy to the best of my knowledge wasn't breathing. Fluttery pulse.
2 decisions I made 1-Turned him over with help after looking at his back
and 2) removing his helmet. -He was blue in the face with blood running out of his mouth.I thought He'd swallowed his tounge
Helmet off ,head supported he started breathing again on his own--kinda explosive first breath
Shit scared I made matters worse to be honest

Frosty, you did the right thing. The first thing you did right was to stop and help. Everything after that was a bonus.

From your description it sounds like you probably saved the guy's life. If I was the injured rider I would want you to do exactly what you did.

My brother was in a car crash some years ago (back seat passenger - car vs bridge). The driver thought he was dead and ran away from the scene. My brother had a broken neck and collapsed lungs - he would have died if a passing motorist had not stopped to check the car wreck and seen him jammed between the back & front seats.

My brother survived and is a tetraplegic. He now has a wife and twin little girls (my only nieces). Am I glad the motorist stopped and helped him? OF COURSE I AM!! Even if* the helper's actions had contributed to the result of my brother being in a wheelchair, I (and my brother and the whole family) are forever grateful for that person having stopped and helped.

*note: I don't think their actions caused worse injuries. As far as I know he would still be a tetraplegic if he had survived without help - but it's likely he would also have brain damage due to oxygen starvation. It's even more likely that he wouldn't have survived at all.

You made the best decisions you could in an extremely difficult situation. Whatever you did, you did the right thing.

[Bikernereid]

+1. Have friends who wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for people who care stopping.

Frosty, you did the right thing. The first thing you did right was to stop and help. Everything after that was a bonus.

From your description it sounds like you probably saved the guy's life. If I was the injured rider I would want you to do exactly what you did.

My brother was in a car crash some years ago (back seat passenger - car vs bridge). The driver thought he was dead and ran away from the scene. My brother had a broken neck and collapsed lungs - he would have died if a passing motorist had not stopped to check the car wreck and seen him jammed between the back & front seats.

My brother survived and is a tetraplegic. He now has a wife and twin little girls (my only nieces). Am I glad the motorist stopped and helped him? OF COURSE I AM!! Even if* the helper's actions had contributed to the result of my brother being in a wheelchair, I (and my brother and the whole family) are forever grateful for that person having stopped and helped.

*note: I don't think their actions caused worse injuries. As far as I know he would still be a tetraplegic if he had survived without help - but it's likely he would also have brain damage due to oxygen starvation. It's even more likely that he wouldn't have survived at all.

You made the best decisions you could in an extremely difficult situation. Whatever you did, you did the right thing.

[MIXONE]

In a situation like this I hope I would have the guts to do SOMETHING.Doing nothing at all is the crime.

[HenryDorsetCase]

In a situation like this I hope I would have the guts to do SOMETHING.Doing nothing at all is the crime.

Yeah but no.

The "do nothing" option (apart from the obvious like ensuring the professionals are on their way) is a viable option. Particularly if the alternative might make things worse.

What you have to do is THINK, not rush about like a pissed chook.

I did a first aid course run by an advanced paramedic (she had GREAT war stories) and one thing she said stuck in my mind. It was that you stop, get your kit out the car/truck, and WALK to the scene, while looking about. That gives you time to LOOK, and ASSESS.

it was a very good experience and a great course.

[NSR-Dan]

Sure removing their helmet might injure their neck, but not doing it could leave them dead, makes the decision a little easier.

Some situations the head may be cracked open and the helmet may be holding it together.

That happened to a work colleuge after being hit by a truck on a TZR, out of commision for about 2 years.

[discotex]

Thanks a million dude--This EXACT senario has been going round and round in my head since saturday night.
The guy to the best of my knowledge wasn't breathing. Fluttery pulse.
2 decisions I made 1-Turned him over with help after looking at his back
and 2) removing his helmet. -He was blue in the face with blood running out of his mouth.I thought He'd swallowed his tounge
Helmet off ,head supported he started breathing again on his own--kinda explosive first breath
Shit scared I made matters worse to be honest

Speaking as someone who's been in similar situations (although not a road crash)...

Mate if he was blue he wasn't breathing.

You almost certainly saved his life and/or brain damage.

If there's a spinal cord injury it probably would have happened during the accident not when you moved him anyway. It's all speculation and unless you had a collar there and didn't use it you did absolutely nothing wrong.

Too many people stand back waiting for someone else to take (or freeze) when the shit hits the fan. Good on you for doing what you could. Please don't seccond guess yourself. If you need to talk about it over a beer or whatever just let me know and I'm there k.

[FROSTY:Me]

Fucking fantastic news. Both the rider and passenger on the bike are alive.
Both outa ICU.