Assessing A Vehicle Crash - Know When To Administer Aid

Before you administer aid to someone who has been in a vehicle crash, it is important to take a few preliminary steps.

First, be cautious as you approach the accident scene in your own vehicle. Stop your car a few feet from the accident scene. Do a quick survey of the scene from a distance. Things to watch out for are weapons, cans of beer, or drug needles. Also, be careful of approaching vehicles. When you decide it is safe enough, get of your car and carefully approach the scene.

If you start to feel anxious, take a few deep, slow breaths. This will calm you down. This is important, because you do not want to further alarm the victims. First check the victim for signs of movement. If you do not see any, call 911, if you have a phone. Also, check the surrounding areas for signs of blood loss.

If you do not have a phone, just continue assessing the victim, until someone else stops to help. You may want to wave at passing cars to signal that you need help. If you have emergency flairs, light one and place it within 10 yards of the accident scene. Soon another citizen or a highway patrol officer will stop.

If you see no movement from the victim, approach the victim and check the wrist for a pulse. If the person has a pulse but is not breathing, administer CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on that person. The basis steps of CPR can be summarized as follows: Make sure you check the airway passage, and remove any noticeable obstructions. This is important even if the victim was driving, he or she could have been chewing on food before losing control of the vehicle. If the victim has nothing obstructing the airway, then check for breathing. You can usually see the abdomen rise up and down. This is a sign of breath. Also, you can put your ear to the victim's nose and you will be able to hear and feel breathing coming from the airway.

Adjust the person to as flat of a position as possible. Put your mouth onto the victim's mouth, and breathe into it, then, turn your head to the side and exhale. Repeat this same procedure once ever 2-3 seconds. Keep this up until the person starts breathing, or until the paramedics arrive.

Also, if the person is not breathing, apply chest compressions. Put the heel of one hand on the sternum (breastbone), and place the other hand over the first. With a strong force, push down on the chest. Repeat this every few seconds until the person has a pulse, or the paramedics arrive.

If the person is conscious, but appears severely hurt, calmly talk to the person. Beware that the person may be incoherent for a variety of reasons. They could be in shock from the pain. Either that or they may even have been doing illegal drugs, or drinking alcohol. Therefore, the best thing you can do is appear calm and confident. Also, be careful not to say anything that would provoke the victim.

Begin by introducing yourself, and tell the person why you are there. You can say, “Hi my name is… (Tell them your name). I can see you have been in an accident, and that you are hurt. I am going to call an ambulance.� If they resist you wanting to call an ambulance, it is best to call anyway, because you might save their life. Furthermore, a person in shock may not realize the seriousness of the situation.

If the person does not appear hurt, beware that it is possible for a person to have internal injuries. The best thing in this situation is to introduce your self and ask “Are you okay?� Also, when you walk closer to the scene, you may hear a person screaming as if they are in pain. Or you may see them hunched over, with arms over the abdomen area. These are signs of serious internal injury. Call an ambulance, or flag down someone else to call as soon as possible.

If the person is not injured, or only has minor scrapes or bruises, call the police first. You do not need to call the ambulance for this. Once the police arrive the officer will help the victims get the necessary help. Stay close by in case the police needs to ask you any questions. You may be a witness.

This is not necessarily a complete list of assessing an accident, but it is a start. Call your local emergency centers for more information to be prepared.