One of my biggest apprehension when it came motorcycle riding was the danger. I am CPR and First Aid certified and have a medical background that includes nursing work in a hospital including the ER for over a year and the things you see are haunting. Despite all of my training I have had no training or experience when it comes to accident management or dealing with a motorcycle injury out on the road.
With Scott and I both beginning to ride together we felt it would be a good idea to learn what to do in case of an accident. No rider wants to go through that possibility but the reality is that it can happen. When it happens the more someone might know about what to do at an accident scene could save the victims life. Fort Worth HOG scheduled a class with Road Guardians on July 20 and July 21 for its members. As soon as we were informed about it we reserved a spot for each of us. The road captains in our chapter are required to take the course and keep their certifications active but we won't always be with the group.
There were 2 courses offered, the basic and advanced. We took both. If you had taken the basic within the last 2 years you could just take the advanced to re certify. Quite a few of our road captains were able to do this. Scott and I along with quite a few others from our chapter had to start with the basic class. There were 22 riders that completed the 2 day course from our chapter.
The basic class taught things like stabilizing the victim, controlling traffic, securing the scene, information needed for a 911 call, basic first aid, techniques for rolling a victim, leadership, and how to find and determine the extent of injuries. It was fascinating and I had never really considered all of the necessary steps that need to be taken at an accident scene.
The advanced class the next day focused on details taught in the basic class. There was a lot more hands on where we practiced stabilizing a riders head while rolling him, getting them on a stretcher, when to remove a helmet and how to remove it if you have to, applying a tourniquet, applying pressure to arteries to stop bleeding, and more. At the end of the second day the instructor surprised us with a mock accident outside from which our team had to take control of the situation properly until EMS arrived. They had a vehicle that had hit a motorcycle. The driver was trying to get back into his car to drive away, the motorcycle was on top of the rider, and the bike passenger had been thrown and injured quite a ways away from the scene. We had to begin making immediate decisions on what to do. The 2 days were quite intense but we had a lot of fun learning with the others from our chapter.
There was a lot of learning involved and I am glad to have taken both classes. There are some real differences when treating someone injured in a motorcycle accident and someone in an automobile accident. The possibilities of a serious head or spinal injury are much higher with a motorcycle accident and every decision and move could cause a life altering effect.
We also learned about the importance of a good Motorcycle Operator First Aid Kit by Rescue Essentials
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