First aid at a road traffic accident

Picture the scene: You're driving along a country road in icy conditions when the car in front of you slides into a ditch and the driver is injured. Would you know what to do?

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Here are some of the basics as advised by the British Red Cross...

Stay safe and keep calm
Park your own vehicle safely and turn the engine off if you are driving.

 

Dial 999
Or get somebody else to do it while you attend to the casualty and stay on the line as you will need to tell the operator where you are, what has happened (describe the accident), how many people are injured and whether they are breathing or bleeding

Approach and check airway
If it is safe to do so you should approach the injured person and check for a response by talking to or gently tapping them. Do not move them.

If there is no response you should check whether they are breathing. This can be done by looking and feeling for breaths, tilting the head back slightly with your fingers under the chin, listening for breath and seeing if you can feel it on your cheek.

Resuscitation
If the person is not breathing you can attempt hands only CPR, pressing the chest at quick regular intervals to the beat of Stayin' Alive (about two compressions a second).

Bleeding
If the victim has suffered flesh wounds in the accident, you may need to staunch the flow of blood.
Raise the wound if possible, then use a dressing or clean piece of cloth to press on the wound.
If you think the person has gone into shock, which can happen with severe bleeding, try to loosen their clothes and keep them warm. If they are out of the car you could lie them down and raise their legs until help arrives.