At the point of witnessing a road traffic accident, your factory setting may be to ignore. After all, it’s not your business, right? However, it is your business because you’re human and should do humane things.

 

Most road-traffic induced deaths are not as a result of the accident itself but the lack of proper and timely medical treatment. We hear stories every day where a victim dies on their way to the hospital or even death at the scene of the accident.

 

***Plat4om giveaway: Check the picture at the end for a surprise.***

 

No one wants to die in such a brutal manner. Therefore, it’s good to know all the do’s and don’t’s that can help save lives. This knowledge may come in handy and you need not be a medical doctor to save lives.

A quick call to the police or a CPR can go a long way. The following is a list of what you can do if a road-traffic accident occurs.

 

What To Do After a Road-Traffic Accident Occurs

 

 

First, ensure you check yourself first if you were involved in the accident as well. You need to be in good shape to help someone else. After you’ve confirmed that your limbs are functioning, there’s no bleeding, dizziness, headache, etc, you can move on to helping others.

 

1. Remain calm: Worrying can cause you to exaggerate the situation. You should stay calm to be of help to even yourself. Try not to panic.

 

2. Access the situation: You need to be certain of what’s happening to know what to do. What caused the accident and how bad is the situation. Is it something you can get yourself involved in? For example, if a tanker fell, you may want to skip to step number (4) because it’s usually risky to be around such accident scenes.

 

3. Check the other victims for injuries: Access the extent of the victims’ injuries. It’s usually wiser to attend to the quiet ones first rather than the one who is shouting. The quiet ones are usually in more pain or have difficulty breathing. Therefore, you can look out for bleeding from the head, neck, arms, legs, abdomen, back, etc. Then if anyone finds it hard to breathe, you can clear their way with your index and middle finger. Also, if a victim is responding well to your questions, it means they comprehend you well and have suffered no head injury.

 

You may ask questions like their name, age, etc. 

 

4. Call the police: After checking the others and accessing the situation, you have details to tell the police. You may call the police, tell them the location of the accident and the number of people involved and the condition they are in. Or you may also call a hospital if you know the area well. The closer the hospital, the better – the hospital is also responsible for contacting the police. Therefore, whichever you choose works well. Just ensure you know the police emergency line (Call 112 or 911).

 

5. Call for help: At this point, there may be people already around. But if there aren’t, you should call for help from some people. However, ensure you control the crowd to avoid a disaster like the one that may happen in tip number (7).

 

Remember, you never know who might need your help. So, read on…

6. Keep them warm: An accident causes shock, which could cause the victim to feel cold. Therefore, you need to keep them warm. A blanket or even your shirt or jacket can be what they need then.

 

 

 

9. Transport with care: If you must move the patent then do so with care on either a stiff board or a stretcher. Also, roll up a thick cloth or towel and place it under the neck for better support. It would reduce the number of movements to avoid spinal injury.

 

10. Control bleeding if any: If there is an open wound, control it by using pressure on the area. Use your palm to push down on it to reduce the bleeding. If the victim is bleeding or vomiting from the mouth, turn them sideways to avoid choking. Place the person’s arm under him straight out. While the arm close to you should be placed across the victim’s chest.