Idiots driving dangerously past accidents (Southern Cross Drive and Chave Street)

Good work for doing something.

As previously mentioned, the ‘D’ in DRABC stands for Danger and is the first letter for a reason: it is the most important consideration on arriving at an incident. By taking 10 seconds to take a deep breath (“Hands in pockets”) then you can get a much better appreciation of the potential dangers.

There is no point in rushing in if it means you might become a further casualty. In your incident, traffic control and isolation of the incident was the primary concern to remove the danger of some idiot crashing into the wreckage or hitting someone on the road who was trying to help.

Also, I carry a first aid kit, window smasher thing (spring loaded pin to break windows which includes a seatbelt cutter) and reflective triangle with a stand which can be set up on the road to warn people.

Footloose said :

DRABC is basic first aid; I think it should be taught in school – college – if it isnt already. This includes heart massage/mouth to mouth. Anything like adreanalin shots to the heart or defibrillator use is out of my league.

PeterH is correct. When an accident occurs, you have two choices; help or get out of the way. There is nearly always somone who is leading the situation. If you get flagged down, ask how you can help and respond. Someone needs to call the cops; another to do traffic/idiot control. And you need at least two people per injured person to perform (beyond DRABC) amatuer first aid safely and correctly IMHO. Whatever, if theres a hole with blood coming out, of course your going to plug it.

Sitting with the injured is one of the most important jobs. As Thumper said, you are monitoring the person and checking their state of conciousness. Shock is generally the universal injury in accidents and it can cause all sorts of problems if it goes unchecked. No matter how well someone says they are, try and get them to lay down somewhere safe and wait for the emergency crews.

JR, Do your first aid course. Im impressed that you’ve already thought about what to do ‘next time’ you help your fellow man. With more confidence/practice, that awkward helpless feeling subsides.

and always remember, if they are strapped into a chair, and there is no danger, leave them there. if they cannot turn their head, or you think they have a spinal injury, assist them in ensuring that they have their head supported on both sides.

if there is an issue, say a fire in the car or leaking petrol on a hot day, you must assess the situation first. Don’t run in to help, if it means that you may become a casualty. Danger is paramount to any first aid person.

If there is no way to get near the victim, as they are trapped, or the only part of them that you can see is, say, their hand, hold it, after letting them know that they are there. The comfort that this will provide speaks volumes, in the eyes of the victim, there is someone else there who is trying to help.

I learnt the importance of a first aid course when I lived in North West WA. I came upon a car rolled over on the major highway, but we were about 3 hours from any town in either direction, and about 2.5 hours from any mobile phone coverage. The driver was trapped in the car and his wife was lying not far from the car.

All I did basically was stop some bleeding, provide some shade, reassure and send for help. But the course I had done gave me the confidence to apply the bandages to stop bleeding, and to monitor.

It was about 4 hours before qualified help turned up.

Ok…in Canberra, you are probably not going to have to wait more than 15 minutes for an ambulance, but its not inconceivable that , say, heading up to the snow, or going up toward Cowra, or even on the Federal Highway, that it could be up to an hour before any help arrives.

First aid course is a brilliant way to gain enough knowledge to do what it sets out to teach – Emergency First Aid. Which is mostly about having the confidence to help in an emergency situation without killing anyone or getting injured yourself. Go for it. And well done with your preparedness to help and willingness to be directed in how to assist at the scene.

ant said :

Often you hear remarks about an accident and people “slowing down to rubber neck”. Well, I always slow down if there’s some kind of imbroglio up ahead. I’m not rubber necking, I usually don’t even look. But if there’s cars, wreckage, debris, and people walking around, you got to slow down.

Exactly. But there will always be morons doing whatever they can to avoid it or to get ahead of someone.

Often you hear remarks about an accident and people “slowing down to rubber neck”. Well, I always slow down if there’s some kind of imbroglio up ahead. I’m not rubber necking, I usually don’t even look. But if there’s cars, wreckage, debris, and people walking around, you got to slow down.

DRABC is basic first aid; I think it should be taught in school – college – if it isnt already. This includes heart massage/mouth to mouth. Anything like adreanalin shots to the heart or defibrillator use is out of my league.

PeterH is correct. When an accident occurs, you have two choices; help or get out of the way. There is nearly always somone who is leading the situation. If you get flagged down, ask how you can help and respond. Someone needs to call the cops; another to do traffic/idiot control. And you need at least two people per injured person to perform (beyond DRABC) amatuer first aid safely and correctly IMHO. Whatever, if theres a hole with blood coming out, of course your going to plug it.

Sitting with the injured is one of the most important jobs. As Thumper said, you are monitoring the person and checking their state of conciousness. Shock is generally the universal injury in accidents and it can cause all sorts of problems if it goes unchecked. No matter how well someone says they are, try and get them to lay down somewhere safe and wait for the emergency crews.

JR, Do your first aid course. Im impressed that you’ve already thought about what to do ‘next time’ you help your fellow man. With more confidence/practice, that awkward helpless feeling subsides.

Doctor Evil said :

Been in that sort of situation a few times, both before and after first aid training and lots of hands-on practice, certainly know which one felt the most comfortable and confident.

You’re right though, nothing worse than someone with a couple of hours training that suddenly thinks they’re a paramedic.

one of the worst, though is the guy who thinks that he knows first aid, then tries to PULL the victim out if the car. I have hit one guy who tried it – knocked him on his backside, he fell over more from the shock of being smacked in the arm I think. I will do it again if I need to.

Though this pales in comparison to the passenger who has realised that they are trapped, is starting to get hysterical while a group of people stand around and watch them.

(and don’t lift a finger to help)

I want my tazer or electric cattle prod….

If you see an accident, and you cannot assist, don’t just stand around. try to see if you can help someone, ask the first aid person, or whoever is acting with authority. If it is a fatal, and the passenger is trapped, DON’T TELL THEM THAT THE DRIVER IS DEAD!!! not the best way to keep someone calm at all.

and not very positive for all the others who are trying to calm them down, either.

reply to Jakez

“In VF/VT, the remedy is the famous jumper cables and paddles – the defibrillator (though some ambos call it a “Packer Whacker”, after Kerry Packer donated defibrillators to the NSW Ambulance Service). The paddles are really just electrodes. They are placed so that the heart is roughly between them. So when you hit the Go Button, the paddles deliver about 300 joules of electrical energy in a very short period of time – about 4-12 ms. The electricity passes in through one electrode, the skin, the heart and then out through the skin to the other electrode. The electrical shock delivered to the heart inside is similar to gently slapping a hysterical person on the face to bring them back to their senses. The electrical shock stops the rapid chaotic electrical activity – the VF/VT. Then, hopefully, a natural pacemaker, the Sino Atrial node in the heart restarts in its regular rhythm, and 80 ml of blood squirt out every second.

Defibrillation works only if there is already electrical activity going on in the heart.”

Some shopping centres, places of work etc have these devices available.

For First Aid training there’s also Parasol EMT (1300 662 601) who are all ex paramedics and ambos. There’s also the Red Cross (1300 367 428), who I did my Senior First Aid Cert with.

A very good skill set to have.

And, JR, good on you for taking the time to stop and help, sounds like you did a good job. Reassurance is key in keeping accident victims calm and from hurting themselves further.