The Safety Series - Motorcycle Accidents - First Responder Basics

No one likes to think about crashing. But if you ride a motorcycle, you need to take the moments after an accident into consideration. What would you do if you fell? What would you do if a guy you were riding with fell? When you are on the road, there are only a few things that you can do, and all of them are very important.

If you go down…

If you are alone and you go down, you have to do your best to stay calm. Your body is going to be pumping with adrenaline and it is going to be hard for you to concentrate, but you have to do your best to assess the situation.

The first thing you have to do is stay down. If you are conscience, then that is a good enough sign for now. Next, find out where  you are. Are you out of the road? Are you in danger? The only reason that you should even consider moving is if you are in danger of being hit again.

The last thing that you can do is assess your injuries and call for help. When you are riding, it is always good to know your location. Even if you are on one of those Sunday joy rides where you leave the map at home. Make sure that you take note of the road you are driving on, and what direction you are from the closest town. If you have to call for help, you have to be able to tell them where you are.

When help does arrive, listen. Your adrenaline is going to be pumping and you are going to want to do crazy things, like stand up, and tell everyone that you are fine. But you need to listen to the first responders and let them do their jobs. There is no such thing as overly cautious when it comes to a motorcycle crash.

If your friend goes down…

Watching a buddy fall can be worse than the crash itself…in an emotional way. There is nothing that you can do to stop it from happening, but once it does, you need to follow these first responder basics.

The first thing you have to do is move them out of harms way. The best way to do this is not by moving them, but by stopping traffic. Most accidents are going to be highly visible and traffic will slow, stop, and move around naturally. But if they have crashed around the blindside of a turn, you have to make sure that no one comes speeding around the bend. If you have another rider with you, one of you can take care of traffic, the other can take care of the rider.

When you get to your friend, be calm and remind them to stay still. Spine injuries are very common in motorcycle accidents and they are also hard to detect. Your best option is to assume that they have a spinal injury, and keep them still. Ideally, you want to lay them on their back since it is the most stable position for the spine, and the ideal position to perform CPR.

Call 911

If you have another rider directing traffic, make sure that they have called 911. If it is just you, you are going to have to multi-task. Call 911 as you begin to help your friend. The emergency services are going to send help, but they can also walk you through some basic medical procedures.

The  ABC’s

A - Airway: Open and clear the airway.
B - Breathing : Make sure that they are breathing. The brain can only go 4 minutes without oxygen before brain damage begins to occur.
C - Circulation - Apply direct pressure to excessive bleeding. If there is a stick, a piece of metal, or something else sticking into the victim, do not remove it. You are more likely to create more damage by removing the object. Try to stabilize it instead.

Simple CPR

(Just a note, do not trust this to guide you through CPR. These are just basic points. There are many first aid, CPR, and first responder classes that you can take to get yourself certified.)

You should only remove the helmet if it is absolutely necessary. If you have to remove the helmet, do so cautiously. Ideally, a second person will be able to help stabilize the neck as you remove the helmet.

Make sure the victim isn’t choking. The tongue can get in the way of breathing so open their mouth, and clear anything that is blocking the airway.

If they are not choking, and they are not breathing, begin CPR.

Tilt the chin up, to open the passageway. Pinch their nose shut, then breathe slowly, twice, into their mouth. If CPR is working, you should see their chest rise and fall as breathe into their mouth.

Check for heartbeat. The ideal place to check for a heartbeat is below the jaw on the neck.

If you feel a pulse, you do not have to do the chest pump part of the procedure. Just continue to blow air into their mouths.

If you do not feel a pulse, you need to do chest compressions. CPR guides recommend a 15:2 ratio when doing solo CPR. This means that you do 15 chest compressions, than breathe twice into their mouth, and repeat. You want to press down on the xiphoid process, the point where the ribs meet the breastbone.

Bleeding

If the crash victim is bleeding, you need to apply direct pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. If there are multiple wounds, you need to fashion bandages. For this reason, it is recommended that you carry first aid supplies along with your tool kit on your motorcycle.

If the wound is on the arms or the legs, you can elevate the limb to try to stop the blood flow.

If you see a rider in need, help. Call 911, block traffic, administer the first responder basics. Do everything that you can to get that biker back on the road.