So You’re driving along…
Traffic accidents are one of the most common survival situations in modern society; in 2009 there were 10.8 million traffic accidents with just under 34,000 fatalities. Your chances of encountering an accident scene in an urban environment are relatively high. If someone has already stopped to help and call 911, your best course of action usually is move along and don’t add to the traffic bottleneck. An important note: by law, all cellular service providers must connect you to 911, even if you do not subscribe. So if nothing else, buy a cheap phone and keep it charged and in your car.
DO NOT
Try to cross a busy highway or road on foot to get to an accident scene. You could end up a statistic. Pull over out of traffic and call 911, then drive until you find a place to safely turn or circle back. Keep yourself and your car out of traffic lanes, and set your emergency flashers; if you have flares, traffic triangles, etc. set them out a distance behind the disabled vehicle using extreme caution. Never attempt to move an injured/unconscious person unless not doing so would put them in more danger; for example, the vehicle is on fire. Do not attempt to direct traffic without a signaling device such as a flashlight or highly visible object and never stand in the lane of traffic. Do not pick this time to experiment with first aid skills; if you don’t know what you’re doing you could cause more harm. Last, never attempt to move/transport a victim in your vehicle unless there are no other options, such as you cannot reach 911 or other help and the person’s injuries pose an immediate threat to life.
DO
Stay calm and stay on the phone with 911 to help direct responders to the scene and for instructions on dealing with the injured; the 911 operator may need you to ask persons involved about their potential injuries, etc. Hands-free devices for cell phones are recommended and worth their weight in gold in emergency situations. Make note of nearby intersections, mile markers or anything else that could help responders find you and let anyone injured or trapped know help is on the way. Secondary crashes on highways or dark roads are common, so if a vehicle can be moved out of traffic/off road, without moving an injured victim, do so. Remember, police at accident scenes with flashing lights and sirens get hit by inattentive motorists more often than you might think – so it could easily happen to you. If there are uninjured children or elderly in a vehicle move them to a safe area and keep them attended at ALL times.
Finally, even if you know emergency first aid, be minimalist in your actions. If you are not in contact with emergency service and you are convinced a person needs emergency first aid to survive, do what you must and nothing else.
It’s All Common Sense
The number one rule in any emergency situation is keep your cool and think before you take any action other than calling for aid. In heavy and/or high speed traffic areas or on dark roads, your safety is at stake as well. Follow the above do’s and don’t’s and instructions from the 911 operator and your efforts will be effective and help others survive.