Car accident

• always take a moment to consider whether the situation is safe for you
• even just calling the help counts as providing first aid, e.g. calling EMS, although it always depends on the particular situation in the area of the incident (see the chapter Why do we provide first aid? in Unit 1)

How to secure the area of the accident?

• stop your vehicle at a safe and well-visible place, put the handbrake on and turn off the engine

  

• turn the hazard lights on

  

• put on a high-visibility vest
• take a first aid kit, a warning triangle and a mobile phone from your vehicle with you
• if there are any passengers in your car who will not be helping you (e.g. children and someone to watch over them), take them off the road to ensure they will be safe
• place the warning triangle in a visible place at least 50 metres meters behind the area of the accident (on a highway it must be at least 100 metres)

  

• put on single-use gloves
• turn the crashed car’s engine off, pull the keys from the ignition and put the handbrake on

How will you proceed after securing the area of the accident when providing first aid to the patients?

• quickly find out how many victims there are and how they are injured, then call EMS or 112
• check the interior and the surroundings of the vehicle thoroughly (keep in mind there can be people outside or under the vehicle)
• the first priority is the massive external bleeding - if it is present, stop it as soon as possible
• always use SSS ABC approach
• prioritize those patients who are not communicating, screaming or who do not respond to asking or shaking
• if the patient is unresponsive, carefully lean them back against the seat, tilt their head back and determine whether they are breathing normally
  • YES, the patient is breathing normally - keep their head tilted, check them regularly and if they stop breathing, use the Rautek manoeuvre to pull them out of the vehicle and start providing CPR
  • NO, the patient is not breathing normally - use the Rautek manoeuvre to pull them quickly out of the vehicle and start providing CPR

How to perform the Rautek manoeuvre? See Unit 5, chapter Rautek manoeuvre.

Pull the patients out of the vehicle only if they are in danger or if they are unresponsive and not breathing normally after opening the airway in the sitting position.

If there is no reason to pull the injured people out of the vehicle, leave them inside until the EMS arrives.

Car accidenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNY9U5ZST-U

Take home message

• When providing first aid in a car accident, always pay attention to your own safety.
• Pull the patients out of the vehicle only if they are in danger or if they are unresponsive and not breathing normally after opening the airway in the sitting position - in that case, start providing CPR after pulling them out.