Ducati Monster Forum

This post is taken from BARF, where it was copied from an r6 forum.  I'm not sure of the original author, but it's important info.


As motorcycle riders we are all aware of the inherant dangers and risks that we take when we mount our bikes and head out to enjoy a good ride. Yes, it is that part of our shared passion that many of us don’t want to think about. However, these dangers and risks become all too apparent when we are faced with situations when a fellow rider is involved in an accident. Whether you are riding alone or in a group and you find yourself in a situation where a rider has gone down, ask yourself honestly, do you know what to do? Well, I asked myself this very question recently and realized that no, I do not. Aside from being able to contact 911 or flag down someone who could, I realized beyond that there is little I know how to do to assist a fallen rider. So, I have gathered some information that helped point me in the right direction and felt it was information that could help a lot of people who may not know what to do if such a situation were to arise.

I would like to share some tips on how to avoid being a part of an accident and what to do should you happening upon one.

---

 
OUTLINE

1)  Get to victim, reassure, establish communication.
2)  Safety factors
     a. Traffic
     b. Hazardous material spills (gas, oil, brake fluid)
     c. Power lines
     d. Fire
     e. Safety circle
3) Best-trained individual (medically-wise) attends to victim (U-ABCC)
     U  Urgency 
     A   Airway
     B   Breathing
     C   Circulation
     C   Cervical Spine Immobilization.   
4)   The three questions
5)   Helmet Removal?
      a)  If breathing is taking place normally, LEAVE HELMET ON!
      b) helmet removal procedure if airway blocked or no respiratory action.
6)  After initial evaluation
     a)  call for ambulance
     b)  Things to tell Emergency Medical Services dispatcher:  Accident; need ambulance; # injured; location; you hang up last.
     c)  Things that may be necessary to get to victim:  helicopter, fire, jaws of life, utilities (downed lines)
7)  Documentation
     a)  Document personal information if possible (victim may pass out):  full name, next of kin w/ phone number, age, DOB, doctor
     b)  AMPLE documentation 
          A   Are you allergic to anything?
          M   Are you on any medications? Street drugs?
          P   What's your past medical history?
          L   Last meal - when did you eat last?
          E  What were the events leading up to the injury?
8)  Wallets, purses, rings
9)  Monitor victim
      a)  Check pulse every 5 minutes & document
      b)  Check breathing every 5 minutes & document
10)  Watch for signs of person going into shock: 
       a)  Inability to answer the 3 questions coherently (Who are you, etc.) (see 4)
       b)  Pale, cool, clammy skin
       c)  Delayed capillary refill press your fingernail so that it turns white. It should turn back to pink in less than 2 seconds.
       d)  Radial pulse (pulse at the wrist) goes away but there is still a pulse on the neck

10.1)  If in shock-->  Assure adequate breathing; Loosen restrictive clothing; Reassure victim; Keep the person warm; Elevate the feet ~6 in; Control bleeding; Immobilize fractures.

11) Stop bleeding w sterile pads
12)  In case of femur injuries (extremely common in moto accidents), check for blood loss
13)  When ambulance arrives
      a)  Provide accessable parking for ambulance
      b)  Let EMT's know who's in charge
      c)  Give factual account of accident
      d)  Give them all of the information that has been written down 
      e)  Give EMT's an honest evaluation of patient's drug/alcohol consumption
      f)  Stay back or leave if told
      g)  give EMT's time to work
14)  At the hospital
15)  Dealing with law enforcement
16)  Thank yous
17)  Couple of miscellaneous notes

---

DO NOT BECOME A PART OF THE ACCIDENT:

If an accident does happen, DO NOT STOP!!!! , continue to ride past until everyone has gone through. Do not target fixate and add to the scene. This is very important for everyone to accomplish if there is one.

This basically applies to group rides when there is a train of riders behind you. Suddenly stopping to assist in an accident can cause riders behind you that are unaware of the accident to slam on there brakes or swerve to avoid you and possibly add to the accident.

If you are riding alone be aware of your surroundings and the traffic around you before pulling off to assist. You do not want get hit from behind becuase you slowed too quickly and the car behind you did not have time to react.

REMAIN CALM... THINK!

The first thing you need to do when arriving on an accident scene is to stop, take two deep breaths to help you remain calm.
The idea of psychological management is that all the other people who are pumped and want to help will do whatever they are told to do by a calm person who seems to be in control and knows what he or she is doing. If you're excited and out of control as well, everyone will run around wasting precious time in an unorganized fashion.

1) Get to victim, reassure, establish communication.  

After a person has gone down, they will be in a confused and scared state. They probably don't know what happened when they went down. They may be confused, frantic, etc., and often the only thing on their mind will be their bike. It is important to reassure them and to make sure they will not try to move or get to their bike. Something on the order of, "You've been in a motorcycle accident. It is important that you do not try to move. My name is (whatever your name is). "Tell them the ambulance is coming (assuming someone has been sent to get one or has called for one!) If your name is something like "Chainsaw'' or "Mega-death'', tell them your name is John or Bob or Mike.

Be careful what you say around the victim, even if they are unconscious. Hearing works in the unconscious state and if you say something like, "Boy, is this dude messed up bad! Maybe we shouldn't call an ambulance after all!'', it's going to register at some level with the person and can do nothing but harm. How you say things will be as important as what you say; keep (or at least sound) calm and it will reduce the panic of everyone else present.

2) Safety factors  

An accident scene can be a hectic place with a lot of things going on at once. It is important to keep safety in mind; if you are helping someone lying in the middle of the road and a semi comes barrelling down on both of you, you aren't going to do that person much good.

a. Traffic
If people are available, get someone uproad and downroad to wave down traffic. This is especially important in tight twisties where they may not have time to stop after seeing the accident site.

b. Hazardous material spills (gas, oil, brake fluid)
People and vehicles will slip on this stuff. If ambulance personnel slip on oil while carrying the victim, it is bad. Either clean it off the road or indicate to everyone where it is.

c. Power lines
If power lines are down around or near the victim, ambulance crews may not be able to get near the person until they are shut off. It is important to call the local utility company to get these live wires turned off at the same time an ambulance is called. If the ambulance arrives and they are still live, they will have to call the utility company and wait for them to come out, wasting a lot of precious time in the Golden Hour.

d. Fire
People who smoke tend to light up under stress. Ask these people to either extinguish their smokes or move away from the flamable materials and/or bikes. It is easy to forget something obvious like this in a stressful situation like an accident scene.

e. Safety circle
Establish a few people around the immediate accident scene to help direct traffic, to point out fluid spills, and to warn people who may want to light up

3) Best-trained individual (medically-wise) attends to victim (U-ABCC)  

The person with the most training (first aid, CPR, etc.) attends directly to the victim. Assuming the victim is lying on the ground, this person should sit behind their head and should stabilize his or her head to avoid unnecessary movement (i.e. hold their head still). Assume the person has a back/neck injury and any unnecessary movement could risk paralysis.

This person should be doing "U-ABCC'' at the arrival on the scene and every 5 minutes thereafter

U Urgency
Try to determine if the person's injuries are (a) minor or (b) major, i.e. urgent. If unsure, it is urgent. See (6) on trying to diagnose injuries.

A Airway
Is there something to impede their airway? Gravel in the helmet, something down the throat? This needs to be cleared immediately, without helmet removal if at all possible.

B Breathing
Is the person breathing? Determined by listening, watching their chest, feeling for breath, etc.

C Circulation
Check the pulse on the throat initially and subsequently on their wrist. This is the carotid artery, right next to the wind pipe/adam's apple on either side. If pulse is not present, remove helmet if necessary and begin CPR immediately. When checking pulse on their wrist, do not check with thumb; use the two fingers next to the thumb.

C Cervical Spine Immobilization
Support the victim's head and make sure they don't move it. CONSIDER EVERY MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT A HEAD INJURY, CONSIDER EVERY MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT A CERVICAL/BACK INJURY! This is important even if they feel they can move their head normally! When you talk to the victim initially, add on a short bit to reassure them;

"You've been in a motorcycle accident. It is important that you don't move. My name is (whatever your name is). Answer me without moving your head. We don't know if you have a neck injury or not. An ambulance is on the way.''

Again, make sure that the victim does not move at all, their head or any other part.

4) The three questions  

Ask the victim three questions and document their responses;
Who are you?
Where are you?
What time of day is it?
(Or asking what day of week it is would be fine also. Many people do not know what time of day it is without a watch even in a normal state.)

5a) If breathing is taking place normally, LEAVE HELMET ON!  

It is very dangerous to remove someone's helmet if they have some type of cervical/back injury. The only time it should be removed is if the airway is blocked and cannot be cleared with the helmet on or if it is necessary to perform CPR.

5b) helmet removal procedure if airway blocked or no respiratory action.  

This is the method recommended by the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons. It requires two people.

Remove glasses and unbuckle the chinstrap. One person should be to the side of the head of the victim and the other person should be directly behind the head of the victim, stabilizing the head to avoid excess movement (as seen in (3)).

The person on the side puts one hand behind the victim's head supporting at the base of the skull (not on helmet). They put their other hand on the jaw bone/chin (again, not on helmet). They will be supporting the head, so it is important to get a good solid grip. Keep some tension in the arms so that if the person pulling the helmet slips the victim's head won't drop.

The person sitting behind the head will then slowly pull the helmet directly back and off of the head. Watch out for catching the nose on the chin-guard on full-face helmets, as well as ears and earrings.

After the helmet is off, put a leather jacket or something under the head of the victim! If the person supporting their head lets go, their head will drop a good 4 inches or so. This would not be good. If possible, it would be best to have a third person ready with something to place under the victim's head once the helmet is off.

After the helmet is off, the person behind the head should again hold the victim's head to promote cervical immobilization.

AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY TO BE USED IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION! Leave the helmet on until the ambulance personnel arrive if at all possible!

6a) After initial evaluation of seriousness of injuries, call for ambulance  

After there has been a quick evaluation of the number of injured people and just the most preliminary guess of seriousness, someone has to be sent to get an ambulance. Remember that an ambulance can only support one truly injured person.

It is important to remember that a lot of the injuries that don't look serious to us could very well be life-threatening and injuries that look fatal are relatively minor. Don't get fancy with the initial seriousness evaluation. If you can't tell, assume it's Urgent!

If a cell phone is not available, send one or two bikes to the nearest house. Send a woman if possible. The idea is that you don't have time to be turned away from someone's house and they are more likely to be receptive to a lady than some Scary Biker Dude. It may sound silly, but if you are turned away from a country home due to looking like a Scary Biker Dude, you may lose several minutes trying to find the next one. Selection of who goes to call is very important. He also says to have the person going to the door wearing light colors; if someone else has a white jacket trade jackets before heading out for the house. Chances are the person going to the door will look friendlier wearing a light-colored outfit than black leathers. In short, send a female to the door if at all possible.

When you go to the door, REMAIN CALM... THINK! Take a second and a couple of deep breaths. It will not help to have this biker person in a very excited state on the doorstep of some person's home. The people will be far more receptive to someone who looks like they have a grip on themselves.

Do not ask directly for entry into their house; something like "There has been an accident. Please call 911.'' There is no need to specify that it was a motorcycle accident to them (it is important to let the Emergency Medical Services dispatcher know that it was a motorcycle accident, however). It is less threatening to ask to call 911 than it is to ask to come in and use their phone.

6b) Things to tell Emergency Medical Services dispatcher  

1. there has been a motorcycle accident
2. need an ambulance
3. the # of injured people (and how badly injured they are). A severely traumatized person will require an entire ambulance to themselves, so it is important to give the EMS dispatcher some idea of the scope of the accident. If they only send one ambulance and there are two people who need one immediately, it will be a problem.
4. location of accident
(get help from the people whose phone you're using, they should know how to describe their location best)
5. You (the caller) hangs up last!
The EMS dispatchers are well-trained and will get all the information they need from you before hanging up. Stay on the line until they do.

6c) Things that may be necessary for victim.  

It is helpful if you know some special equipment is going to be necessary to tell the dispatcher;
1. Helicopter
Most rural areas cannot handle severe trauma and they may need to get the victim to a trauma center via helicopter. If they know there may be a need, they can get the helicopter ready to leave for the rural hospital when a doctor establishes the extent of the injuries. Slider says that in Iowa at least, if the helicopter comes out and it turns out it wasn't necessary, there is no charge for the service.
2. fire
Should the fire department be called in?
3. Jaws of life
4. Utilities
See (2-C) about downed power lines above.

7a) Document personal information if possible (victim may pass out)  

Before the ambulance arrives, if possible, document information about the victim. They may become unconscious and it will be helpful to have information like;
Full name
Next of kin (plus phone number)
Age, date of birth
Doctor

7b) AMPLE documentation  

There is AMPLE time to document this before the ambulance arrives. Again, this will be very helpful to the paramedics if the victim passes out.
A Are you allergic to anything?
M Are you on any medications? Street drugs?
P What's your past medical history?
L Last meal - when did you eat last?
(will help anesthesiologist if one is necessary)
E What were the events leading up to the injury?

Document the mechanisms of injury. If the doctors and paramedics have some idea how the accident occurred, it will give them better ideas on what kind of injuries to look for. Did the person low-side and slide for a while on one of their sides? Did they go over the bars? Did they head-butt a solid object, such as a car? If they went over the bars, is there any obvious damage to the tank/handlbars which might indicate they hit the lower abdomen/groin area? This kind of stuff could help the doctors/paramedics.

8)  Wallets, purses, rings  
Do not go rooting through personal effects of the person. There should be no need to go through their wallet or purse for insurance information; the hospital personnel will deal with all of that. If there is some important reason that you need something from their wallet or purse, make sure you have at the very least a witness! Preferably a law enforcement officer if possible. If the person is conscious, ask first and if they say "no'' then don't push it.

If the person has rings on, the fingers may swell up and it is important to get them off. Consent is paramount if the person is conscious. Make sure there is at least one witness when removing them.

9a) Have person check pulse every 5 minutes & document it  

Every 5 minutes the pulse should be checked at the wrist. If the pulse goes away at the wrist, check at the throat. This is a late sign of shock (see 10).

Write down the number of beats per minute and the time you took the measurement.

9b) Have person check breathing every 5 minutes & document it  

Just like the pulse, check number of breaths per minute, the most reliable method being by placing your hand on the person's chest. Obviously if the victim is female it would be best to have another lady do this if at all possible.

Try to check their breathing rate without their knowing it. If they know you are counting their respirations, they may unconsciously alter their breathing rate.

Record this number along with the pulse every 5 minutes. Also note the type of breathing; fast, shallow, yodelling, gurgling, labored, easy, whatever. Even in layman's terms it may be useful to the paramedics.

10) Watch for signs of person going into shock  

People invariably die due to shock. "you don't die by the gunshot wound but by the shock of the gunshot wound."

Signs of shock:
1. Inability to answer the 3 questions coherently (Who are you, etc.) (see 4)
2. Pale, cool, clammy skin
3. Delayed capillary refill press your fingernail so that it turns white. It should turn back to pink in less than 2 seconds. If it takes longer, that is not a good sign.
4. Radial pulse (pulse at the wrist) goes away but there is still a pulse on the neck

There isn't much we can do once someone starts going into shock, but a few minor things that may help:
1. Assure adequate breathing. This really comes with the AB of U-ABCC.
2. Loosen restrictive clothing.
3. Reassure victim.
4. Keep the person warm (not too hot though).
5. Elevate the feet ~6 in.
This is actually a judgement call since you shouldn't really do that with suspected spinal injuries.
6. Control bleeding.
This is probably obvious but if you don't realize the victim is bleeding and they are rapidly going into shock, this should tell you something.
7. Immobilize fractures.
This helps relieve pain and control bleeding.

11) Stop bleeding, using sterile bandages/dressings if available  

Two important things here are to (a) stop any bleeding as soon as possible and (b) keep the wounds sanitary as much as possible. (a) is far more important than (b). Peripheral limbs are commonly lost to infection, but given the choice between stopping bleeding and using a nonsanitary cover, using the nonsanitary wrapping is preferred. Blood loss is bad. Wounds can be cleaned at a hospital.

If sterile dressings are not immediately available, women in the group may be carrying sanitary tampons, or Kotex napkins. Either can be used as a sterile dressing, although obviously the sanitary napkins would be superior.

Carry some sterile dressings with me in my tankbag, backpack or trunk space. They cost about $1 at your local drugstore. * Personally, I carry a Backpacker's First Aid kit. They are campact and don't take up too much space.

EXCEPTION: If there are cuts anywhere on the head, do NOT apply pressure. If there is a bone chip it is possible to push it into the brain. It is also possible that stopping the flow of blood or cerebral spinal fluid can lead to a buildup of pressure on the brain which is not good. You should still bandage the cuts loosely.

12) In case of femur injuries (extremely common in moto accidents), check for blood loss  

Femur (the "thigh bone'') injuries are very frequent. There are huge arteries that run along the inner thigh; if these are compromised the person can bleed to death in a very short amount of time. It is important to minimize bleeding in this region! Use a pressure point above the cut to control blood flow out of the femur artery.

13) When ambulance arrives  

Before the ambulance arrives, send people to the intersections in all directions to watch for/direct the ambulance.

When the ambulance arrives, it is important to stay out of their way as much as possible. Meet them and identify yourself as being "in charge'' and to be the person to contact if they need anything (bikes moved, people moved, whatever).

Make sure you:
1. Provide accessable parking for ambulance
2. Let EMT's know who's in charge
3. Give factual account of accident ("And then the car comes along at 154 feet per second and hits our buddy here!'' is probably not going to help anything). At 40 MPH, there are 60,000 units of kenetic energy. At 50MPH, there are 120,000. It is IMPORTANT for medical personnel to have an HONEST estimate of the speed and circumstances at the time of the accident.
4. Give them all of the information that has been written down (periodic vital signs and the three questions from U-ABCC at 5 minute intervals, personal information about the victim, etc.)
5. Give EMT's an honest evaluation of patient's drug/alcohol consumption
6. Stay back or leave if told
7. give EMT's time to work

It is important to give the ambulance people the most accurate information possible! If the person just had 10 beers in the past hour, tell them! They are not the law enforcement officials and their only immediate concern is the safety of the patient. By underestimating, trying to cover up, or not telling the whole truth, you are only keeping important information away from them which may be necessary for the safety of the patient.

If the helmet was removed, send it along in the ambulance. The doctors may use the visible damage to the helmet to assist them in what to look for in terms of injuries.

If there were leaking fluids, let the medical personnel know. The fluids may have gotten on the patient and they need to know if there was oil, gas, brake fluid or something like that on an open wound.

14) At the hospital  

Only have one or two people in the Emergency Room at a time. If the doctors have questions and neither of the people in the ER know the answer, send one of them out to the other people to find out the answer. Crowding everyone into the ER will only make it more stressful and difficult for the ER staff to do their jobs.

15) Dealing with law enforcement  

As with the the ambulance, when law enforcement arrives identify yourself as being "in charge''. Let them know that if there is anything they need, such as bikes moved or people moved, you are the person to talk to.

For them, walking on to a scene of bikers who are all in a very excited state is intimidating and this will help calm them and give them some easy way to control the bike people. Again, this is the psychological management.

It is obviously important to do whatever the law enforcement officials ask.

Before the officers do arrive, try to not move motorcycle parts any more than necessary! They may need to take accident scene notes and by moving things around you may confuse the situation for them. Parts will need to be moved off the road to avoid further accidents, but move them directly to the side so the law enforcement officials can determine roughly where it stopped if necessary. Try not to distrub the bike any more than necessary. (Electrics turned off, bike propped up vertically, etc.)

16) Thank yous  

A good number of the ambulance people are volunteers. Officers often get little or no recognition for helping out on the scene. It will cheer all of them up to no end to receive some kind of thanks for their help.

Any of the following are appropriate:
1. cards
2. in newspaper
3. in person

It will improve our image as bikers and rewards all those people who take time out of their own lives to help others. It is important!

17) Couple of miscellaneous notes  

Leathers will have to be cut off by medical personnel. Be mentally prepared for it. If they do not cut off your clothes, they will not be able to do a proper assessment of the wounds and you are not being treated properly! If you are conscious and insist that they do not cut your leathers, they cannot by law. If you are unconscious, it is implied consent and they will remove them if in doubt.

Over 50% of fatalities are alcohol related. I know it's a cliche' but don't let friends drink and ride unless you're prepared to lose that friend.

Many accidents involve going over the handlebars. If your bladder is full, the extreme pressure can easily cause it to break. Make a pitstop by the bathroom before you leave.

In an emergency situation, psychological management is important. If a central person takes charge and is remaining calm, this will transfer to all of the other people on the scene and will help the victim far more than if everyone is overly excited and pumped with adrenaline. Take two deep breaths when you feel yourself losing it.

Take basic first aid and CPR courses! They are offered through he Red Cross and several other organizations periodically. Go with some riding buddies or get your club to have a class!

(Most of this information was taken from the following website: www.molenda.com/accident.html and from Shamus’ posts regarding group rides.)

That is great. It made me realize that I really wouldn't know what to do if I ever needed to. Its something that we all think will never happen to us, or we  will never need to know but it needs to be put out there so people know what to do. This should deff. be a sticky.

this is great info  [thumbsup]

Thank you, Spidey.

Is everyone familiar with "ICE"?  Not the kind you put on a boo boo or your cold drink, but the abbreviation for In Case Of Emergency?  This should be where you should put your emergency contact numbers in your cell phone phone book and where you should look for emergency number in a victim's cell phone.

Great info but I would add/reorganize a few things:

#1 should not be: "Get to Victim....". It's Safety Factors. Most importantly, Traffic. If you get run over what good are you to the victim? Make sure it's safe before you run into traffic.

#15: Dealing with Law Enforcement: Unless it's a fatal or has a good chance of being one, move bikes and parts off the road. We don't document anything other then the "Area of Impact" on accident reports (In CA). The first thing we do at an accident is make sure everyone is okay, the next is to get the vehicles out of the street, one of the last things is to measure the scene. So if the rider has a broken leg or such and is otherwise "going to live", clear the road if it's becoming a safety hazard for other drivers or creating a traffic nightmare. If it's a fatal or looks like it could go that way shut down the road and don't touch anything.

A big thing I didn't see on the list (if it's there point it out to me) is witness's. If there are any, insure they stay on scene, if they can't wait and it's a fender bender, get their name and contact info. If it's a serious accident I would do my best to make them stay.

Edit: And for riders, put your blood type and any allergies on your helmet or some other place that they will be seen. If on a group ride a basic emergency contact, blood type, and allergy, medication list distributed to every member of the group is a good idea.

What's funny is my wife put that in hers and with six plus years in law enforcement I never had heard of it. I always look for "Mom" when I toggle through a vics cell phone.

Yeah, unfortunately the "ICE" thing has not really caught on, but it may help.  Looking for "Mom" on my phone won't help, and won't for most people my age.  Any suggestions?

If I don't find "Mom", I just start calling people. I usually hit the send button and look through the most recent calls. I then call one that has been called alot.

I'm not sure I want my favorite stripper making decisions about my treatment....

Spidey - when I saw the thread's title I immediately thought the "crashinmofo" had trashed the new bike [laugh] :-*

Good info here....

+1 on the sticky and perhaps move to the "How To" section.

A lot of new phones have an "In Case of Emergency" category in the contacts; I just got one of the Gzone phones (Casio/Verizon) and there is an ICE category with a little Swiss flag next to it (yup, white cross on red field  [laugh]) that always appears as the first of the Contacts listed. The contacts I designate for ICE then appear in red in the display. Clever ideas, but if they're not publicizing them a bit better with law enforcement & emergency personnel (as hblam's note indicates) they won't be all that effective.

I wouldn't move a thing. A fatal accident could be hard to determine. Best thing to do is just leave it all until the Police arrive. Touch only what you have to.

Most people can tell the differance between "my leg is kinda sore" and "oh crap, his f'ing head is tore about clean off". It's the "my leg is kinda sore" type that I am talking about. So, no, the best thing to do is not to just leave debris, vehicles, and people in the road. It's dangerous for the people involved in the accident and for other drivers traveling that route.

Great info but there is 7 pages of it - like I'm going to be able to remember all that during the stress and adrenaline of tending to an accident scene?  The challenge is to condense that info enough that it is sufficiently memorable to the reader in some way...

Your right. I had a situation last year that's right up the alley of this post. I was following a guy on an Electra Glide on a small highway, on my way to work. We were about 50 feet apart. As we were comming up to the interchange with I-95, a couple of really stupid stupid stupid people in 2 vehicles, a van and a car, were comming off the exit ramp on the right and cut over 3 lanes of traffic to get to the left exit to get back on to I-95 going the other way. The van got right in front of the Harley rider and hit the brakes. The Harley rider hit his brakes, locked up the rear, let off the rear and highsided the bike right in front of me at around 50 mph. The van and the car and me pulled ahead on to the left shoulder and I yelled at the van driver not to move! I ran over to check on the Harley guy to see how bad off he was. He was sitting up in the spot he landed in, so my worst fears were calmed, he wasnt dead. I asked him his name and where he was hurting. It was about this time that fortunately for me, there were others in passing cars who stopped to help included an EMT and a trama nurse who took over for me in helping the guy. Unfortunately for me In my haste to run over and check on the guy I did not get the van's tag number. While I was with the rider, the van and his posse in the car took off before the cops showed. No one else got the tag number either. The cops and EMTs arrived pretty quick, and I gave a descriptoin as best I could about the van. I also helped the cops pick the HD up and move it off the highway and find the guys cell phone to call his SO. I called the hospital later and found out the guy was OK and was treated for road rash and a broken wrist. I never did find out if the van driver was caught.

I hope to never have to do that again. But if I do, I'll make sure to get tag numbers.

Bump, can we sticky this plz?

Easy.  Check, Call, Care:

Check: Is it SAFE? For you to help, look up, down, and all around.
Check: Are you OK?  Can they talk?  Tap and shout if no response.

Call:  Call 911.  If you have someone else call make them report back so you know it was done.

Care: A B C  All care is based on Airway, Breathing and Circulation.

Open the Airway and Look, Listen, Feel for breath for 10 seconds, if no breath give 2.
Check pulse at neck with airway open for 10 seconds.  If no pulse start CPR.

The 3 C's will guide you through any situation.  maintaining life until help arrives is the goal and Check, Call, Care and ABC do that.

Mary
EMT - I, Red Cross instructor and advocate of training.

Strange, I just followed a Red Cross Helper Training over here (Belgium) and they tell you not to bother with the pulse anymore; if he's not breathing start CPR. Apparently they found out that even trained personnel (doctors & nurses) weren't 100% effective in determining pulse; so they said if they can't, how should the untrained be able to determine it correctly.

You are correct.  We ( the Red Cross) do not teach pulse check for the Lay Responder.  I did not want to confuse people who read the OP.  An extra 10 seconds will not make a difference either way.  The Red Cross does teach pule checking in the CPR for the Professional Rescuer class.

it's funny how different agencies have different priorities

I could give a shit about traffic flow

I say dont touch a thing and block traffic

keep the scene safe and let PD and DOT figure out the mess later

but on a MC ride you don't have 40,000lbs of firetruck to take a lane

and even if you had one in your pocket, it doesn't stop people from blowing through the scene anyway

ultimately

the best thing you can take from what spidey posted is an understanding that it isn't going to go as planned

and when Fire/EMS arrives they are more than likely going to ignore everything you have done

don't take it personal

Stickyed

I added an outline to the first post.  I know that's not exactly what you're looking for, but it might help.

ROAD ID  <-----------   Emergency workers always look for these - get one on your boots!

Then no one has to look for who to call, if you have special needs etc.

http://www.roadid.com/common/id.aspx (http://www.roadid.com/common/id.aspx)

(http://www.roadid.com/imagesV3/products_shoeID_lg.jpg)

(http://www.roadid.com/imagesV3/products_ankle_lg.jpg)

I have one on my wrist. [thumbsup]

(Remember the pictures of the squid losing his shoes as he side-swiped a car when he went over the DY?)

Great idea. Thanks for the post.

Interesting. I've never seen one before. We always look for a wallet/ID. That would be a better place for this info. On a motorcyclist the helmet is a good spot as well.

And remember check with your state to see if they have a Good Samaritan Law. I know California has pulled theirs [bang]

Mahalo

I just read through this and as a Firefighter/EMT I'm happy that info like this is getting out there. When accidents occur, most people freeze. Even if this doesnt help everyone, it might be stuck in someone's mind and give them that little extra push to start to get the ball rolling for when EMS shows up

good stuff!

however, i think it would be a good idea to remove/edit the "outline" portion of the OP. it contradicts the later, full content with regard to not becoming part of the accident. #1 MUST be to insure that it is safe to get to the victim. everything else follows from that. it is SOP for emergency responders to determine whether or not it's safe to render aid before "going in." this is very hard to do, even more so for anyone without training and/or experience.

cant emphasize enough though...do not become another victim.

Link?

My tip is make a sticker with Emergency contact numer, blood type, name and etc... And put on your helmet. Add in your cellphone a fast dial number just in case...

Great thread!

I run calls on downed riders all the time. Usually sportbikes at triple digits(never had one live) or drunk guys on Harleys(they live most of the time). Hey...Im just telling you the facts. lol

I'll ad that we take a conscious effort (at least in my dept) to cut along seams/stitches of leathers. We are aware of the cost and pride behind them. [thumbsup]

Great ideas in here. My biggest thing is to just give my captain the written down info on the rider and get the hell out of the way. Put out cigs (we have O2 bottles and usually the bike is leaking) and just get the F*ck back. I can't tell you how many times we have gone head to head with an idiot friend rider. [bang] We are not allowed by law to give you ANY info about the rider if you arent family so don't ask. Non family are lucky enough to be told what hospital they are being flown to and thats a case by case.

I've seen so many deaths from riding its crazy, at least one a month ,sometimes more. And that doesnt include the ones that lived. Be safe out there dammit! Remember if you think that idiot is going to pull out in front of you...guess what...they are.  >:(

Ride safe

Well I'm very late to the party, but great stuff! thanks for the post... 5 plus years ago  :)

Figured I would post this as it helps me vent a little, just a brief background on myself. I have been a paramedic for 24 years working full time since I was 20 years old, I started working for a private ambulance service directly out of school and 6 years ago I was hired as a professional firefighter / paramedic on my local fire dept.,long family history in the fire service.

And the story...
On October 9 th myself and two other guys from my group ( both paramedics as well) had planned on going for a ride that day after getting off shift that morning at 7. I on my m1100 and my friend on his newly purchased victory 8 ball ( new rider and his first moto ever) set off to the next town to grab coffee and wait for our third friend to show up, now our friend that we are waiting for has a borrowed R6 from another firefighter/ paramedic in our group, hes been out on it a few times and seems to have a  "intermediate skill level.

He finally shows up and we set off on our ride, now if you can paint a picture of three "alpha males" out riding , two of them have ridden together before (myself and we will call my buddy "victory" for ease of explanation) I have been riding most of my life on a multitude of different bikes and "victory"is a brand new, very cautious rider.  Now  My buddy R6 has never been out with the other two "alpha males", is on a borrowed bike, and in a nut she'll has a " I can keep up with you guys and more" attitude, not just that day but life in general. Mind you the three of us are very close outside of work and hang out often so I'm intitled to talk a litte shit :)

I knew how the day was going to go when R6 got on the throttle in a thickly settled area and pulled away from us,  I made the decision to hang back with victory instead of playing chase with R6 (I didn't want to provoke him on a borrowed bike) We slowed down and R6 did as well and joined us, we came through a left right turn that led into a half mile straightaway and just as I predicted R6 was on the gas and pulled away from us on the straight which led into a moderate right turn.

Now I can hear the sound of R6's bike as he's going down the straight and I'm thinking to myself as he starts to approach the right hand turn... "Brake now before the turn please not wile your in it!" As soon as he starts to make the turn I hear the rpm's die and see the rear light go bright.... The bike stands up and crosses the yellow line, as this is happening there's a small dump truck pulling an enclosed dual axel landscape trailer behind it coming in the opposite direction, R6 hits the trailer in front of the axel at a 45 deg angle and flys approx 40 feet before landing in the middle of the roadway, the bike flips over four times then skids of to the right coming to rest against the curb.

Now being an experienced paramedic I knew right away that I was going to fly him via medivac  helicopter before I even stopped my bike to get off just based on the speed and impact alone. I got off and approached him looking around for body parts that I'm sure were lost just based on seeing the impact however he was intact but had a devasting injury to his left thigh, lacerated around the entire circumference of the thigh with a visible fracture of his femur in multiple places with moderate to heavy bleeding. Victory was just getting off his bike and walking up to us and I made a justure of a "spinning blade" then a phone  with my hand and he knew exactly what I ment.
We applied a turnicate to his upper thigh and stabilized his leg the best that we could with no equipment and victory made multiple calls to update the police and fire with who we were and what we wanted and what to expect when they arrived. We waited for what seemed like an eternity, I can't begin to tell you how many times in my carrier I have pulled up on scene to people saying "oh my god it seems like it took you forever to get here!" That day I was in their shoes. The first arriving police had some basic equipment and we began to dress the wounds as the first fire dept rescue showed up. The medics on the rescue basically stepped back and let us run the entire event which was awesome because I was like an angry dog protecting his food when it came to treating him. We Packaged him and transported him to the landing zone at that point, I started multiple IV's and tried to replace some of his volume with fluid and gave narcotics for pain control.

We arrived at the landing zone and loaded him into the helo and off they went, I went back with the rescue to meet back up with victory at the police station and retrieve my bike. I was happy with the treatment of R6 and how quickly we did what we have been trained to do and have done so many times in the past, but never in my 24 years of being a medic to a friend. That night after going home I had an adrenaline dump and basically broke down, I've become very skilled over the years of  putting all my work horrors in a little box and pushing them into the back of my mind so they kind sort of rot and go away and they do but not this time, it was a rough few days for me after. R6 was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit for a week and then finally moved to a regular floor last sunday. He makes his way to a rehab hospital on Thursday to start that portion of his life and learn to walk again. There was talk of him loosing his leg but that ship has passed and he's out of the woods and has good feeling and movement and blood flow to the lower leg now.  

I spoke to the surgeon that treated him in the OR and he told me that R6 was pulsless for approx two to three minutes due to blood loss, and that him being alive was absolutly contributed to the treatment we gave him on scene and the decisions we made for transport with the helicopter.  he suffered a femur fracture with damage to the femoral artery as well as a fracture of the pelvis in multiple areas, he recieved 6 units of blood during the initial surgery and two more after.

There was an ABC film crew filming a documentary called "the golden hour" which highlights trauma patients and the first hour after the initial injury which dictates the persons outcome
Reflected on the treatment the recieve in that hour. R6 is going to have the first episode that airs in February and my self and victory were interviewed in the hospital by them about what happened. I'll post a link here when it gets aired on ABC this February.

I also had my gopro on for the entire event, soup to nuts.  I'm not going to post anything untill
R6 ok's the edited version. Wile I was writeing this he just texted me "Hey......... F$@k you!!! and a smily face after.... That's all I could have hoped for at the end of all this  [thumbsup]

A great post forever. Thanks for creating such valuable input. [bow_down]