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Standing in traffic with no vest or other emergency vehicles certainly holds the same risk as commercial air travel...
So I stopped at an accident off-duty...
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First time I ever stopped at an accident, I'd been a paramedic for a couple years already. I only stopped because it was a pretty bad looking wreck and there was no one there yet. Just wanted to see if I could help somehow. I didn't realize it until I walked up, but the scene was already swarmed by off-duty Rickey Rescues who had "taken control of the scene" and wouldn't let anyone else near that patients. Last time I ever stopped.
Until about 10 years later, when I was driving down I-77 in Virginia and saw a pickup from the oncoming lanes careen across the median, go airborne, roll a couple times, and come to rest on it's roof. It was weird because for years I'd responded to hundreds of scenes that looked just like it, but had never actually witnessed anything more serious than a fender bender. I pulled well off the highway maybe 50 meters away, and in spite of getting to it no more than probably 90 seconds after it happened, it was, again, already swarmed by Rickey Rescues. It's like they just appear out of thin air. Anyway, this time they were just standing outside the truck pointing through the passenger side door at the driver, who appeared unresponsive and was hanging upside down from his seatbelt with his head against the roof of the truck, and his neck flexed hard with his chin crammed into his chest. He didn't look like he was breathing. I asked if anyone had a knife on them, and one of the whackers did. I crawled through the open passenger side door, and the guy wasn't breathing. I did my best to position him in a way it looked like he would fall into a position where I could pull him out rather than in a contorted mess that would trap us both, and I cut the seat belt. It worked, thankfully. He fell the right way and I pulled him out and opened his airway, and he was now breathing just fine. He was completely unresponsive and was a big fat guy and I could only maintain his airway by putting him on his side, a la "recovery position". It seemed like a long time until the engine arrived (was probably 5 min), and in that time I was interrogated by a dialysis nurse about my qualifications to be "in charge of" this patient, and why didn't I have him on his back, holding his head still? Fire arrived and seemed very apprehensive about taking a patient who was unresponsive to pain and had airway compromise, just had the deer in the headlights, I-don't-know-what-to-do look that new EMT's all have. The firefighter didn't seem as though he wanted to take over, so I just kept maintaining, figuring the ambulance would be there momentarily. Until a cop told me to get out of the way so the firefighters could do their job. I made the firefighter take the guy's head and showed him how I was maintaining the airway, and walked away. As I drove past a minute later, they already had him supine on a backboard.
The experts seem to come out of the woodwork for MVC's, so I would not stop again unless I was in a real rural area where there was no other help around and it looked like EMS might take a while.
Until about 10 years later, when I was driving down I-77 in Virginia and saw a pickup from the oncoming lanes careen across the median, go airborne, roll a couple times, and come to rest on it's roof. It was weird because for years I'd responded to hundreds of scenes that looked just like it, but had never actually witnessed anything more serious than a fender bender. I pulled well off the highway maybe 50 meters away, and in spite of getting to it no more than probably 90 seconds after it happened, it was, again, already swarmed by Rickey Rescues. It's like they just appear out of thin air. Anyway, this time they were just standing outside the truck pointing through the passenger side door at the driver, who appeared unresponsive and was hanging upside down from his seatbelt with his head against the roof of the truck, and his neck flexed hard with his chin crammed into his chest. He didn't look like he was breathing. I asked if anyone had a knife on them, and one of the whackers did. I crawled through the open passenger side door, and the guy wasn't breathing. I did my best to position him in a way it looked like he would fall into a position where I could pull him out rather than in a contorted mess that would trap us both, and I cut the seat belt. It worked, thankfully. He fell the right way and I pulled him out and opened his airway, and he was now breathing just fine. He was completely unresponsive and was a big fat guy and I could only maintain his airway by putting him on his side, a la "recovery position". It seemed like a long time until the engine arrived (was probably 5 min), and in that time I was interrogated by a dialysis nurse about my qualifications to be "in charge of" this patient, and why didn't I have him on his back, holding his head still? Fire arrived and seemed very apprehensive about taking a patient who was unresponsive to pain and had airway compromise, just had the deer in the headlights, I-don't-know-what-to-do look that new EMT's all have. The firefighter didn't seem as though he wanted to take over, so I just kept maintaining, figuring the ambulance would be there momentarily. Until a cop told me to get out of the way so the firefighters could do their job. I made the firefighter take the guy's head and showed him how I was maintaining the airway, and walked away. As I drove past a minute later, they already had him supine on a backboard.
The experts seem to come out of the woodwork for MVC's, so I would not stop again unless I was in a real rural area where there was no other help around and it looked like EMS might take a while.
reaper
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So that man is breathing because you stopped. Where is the bad thing? You will always have idiots on any scene, even while working. No reason to take things personally. Just do what needs to be done and then walk away.
DesertMedic66
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Fender binders or any TC/MVC with minor to moderate damage I will not stop (I may call 911 depending on the accident, not gonna call 911 for a fender binder). A car with serious damage I will call 911 and may stop depending on several factors (anyone on scene, is it safe, can I pull to a safe spot, etc).
Honestly for the TC that was described I would have kept on driving by. 2 vehicles with very minor damage still in moving lanes of traffic is a recipe for disaster.
Honestly for the TC that was described I would have kept on driving by. 2 vehicles with very minor damage still in moving lanes of traffic is a recipe for disaster.
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That's the point. There's usually nothing to be done. When there is, someone else is almost always eagerly doing it already. And if they aren't doing it, there's a good chance they'll find a way to make it hard for you to do it. At least that's been my experience.
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m3dic
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So from a UK perspective.
I don't go looking for incidents to stop at and I wouldn't call myself a wacker or Ricky.
But I live up to my nick name of sh*t magnet I find stuff both on and off duty. My car carries all the same kit I would expect to get at work (mainly because I run my own company providing medical/ambulance cover to events) it has lights etc so it is safer for me to stop.
That said I have stopped at stuff when in a normal car with minimal kit. If all I can do is maintain an airways or keep someone calm then that is better than not.
I am not just talking MVC's I am talking side if the road in a quiet street etc.
It's also worth noting that over here clinicians with a registration (emt's, first responders etc are not registered here) have a legal obligation to stop unless they have a valid reason not to.
I think we should all remember why we do this job... yes our safety at a scene us priority number 1 but let's not be risk adverse about the whole thing....
I don't go looking for incidents to stop at and I wouldn't call myself a wacker or Ricky.
But I live up to my nick name of sh*t magnet I find stuff both on and off duty. My car carries all the same kit I would expect to get at work (mainly because I run my own company providing medical/ambulance cover to events) it has lights etc so it is safer for me to stop.
That said I have stopped at stuff when in a normal car with minimal kit. If all I can do is maintain an airways or keep someone calm then that is better than not.
I am not just talking MVC's I am talking side if the road in a quiet street etc.
It's also worth noting that over here clinicians with a registration (emt's, first responders etc are not registered here) have a legal obligation to stop unless they have a valid reason not to.
I think we should all remember why we do this job... yes our safety at a scene us priority number 1 but let's not be risk adverse about the whole thing....
ViolynEMT
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Only if you fly without a vest
SunshineCamo
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If I can do so safely, I often stop for wrecks or heck even people broke down on the side of the road. Most of the time they don't need any help but often enough I find people with a dead cell phone, no phone etc. Before I get out of my car I do a quick risk assessment, and there's been times I've decided the smart play is to just call 911 from where I am. I keep an issued IFAK in my car but unless I know for a fact they need it, which I've only used once. With just a little care the risk is minimal.
Honeybadger
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I've called in and stepped in on quite a few incidents of rolling domestic violence. Not because I have any special training, but because it's the decent thing to do. There's nothing wrong with stopping to make sure everyone's okay and if necessary, calling 911. Even if you don't stop, calling 911 isn't anywhere nearly as scary and risky as people think it is. Best case, you stopped a crime or a drunk driver, worst case you wasted a cop's time and if my former police partner is any word to go by, I'm sure he'd rather be investigating DUI's and DV's than talking to the homeless guy that's yelling at cats again.
One thing I remember from a class I took a few years ago is that when something bad happens, people tend to assume "someone else" will do something about it and that only gets worse the more people are around. Pretty much everything I see is someone on the side of the road midway through changing a tire or something, obviously doing fine with the situation. But there are so many things that just showing that little effort can make a difference to someone, even if it turns out that what you do is incredibly small.
But if there is something I can do to help make someone's situation or day a little better, why should I leave it to someone else to MAYBE do it if I know I can do it? Might be dangerous to get involved in an accident, but I hope someone would do that for my little sisters if I couldn't, so I'd still do it for someone else. Might also be more dangerous to get involved in a potentially violent situation like the one above, but again I hope someone would for my little sisters....I carry for a reason. Or just something as simple as giving a homeless person a fresh meal. Sure someone else might, but I can. But then again, all my plans in life are based on my belief that if it really comes down to it, helping someone else is more important than helping myself, regardless of what that means for me or the situation it puts me in. Too many people don't care or are just complacent in things being someone else's problem....not a trait that I want to be known to have.
But if there is something I can do to help make someone's situation or day a little better, why should I leave it to someone else to MAYBE do it if I know I can do it? Might be dangerous to get involved in an accident, but I hope someone would do that for my little sisters if I couldn't, so I'd still do it for someone else. Might also be more dangerous to get involved in a potentially violent situation like the one above, but again I hope someone would for my little sisters....I carry for a reason. Or just something as simple as giving a homeless person a fresh meal. Sure someone else might, but I can. But then again, all my plans in life are based on my belief that if it really comes down to it, helping someone else is more important than helping myself, regardless of what that means for me or the situation it puts me in. Too many people don't care or are just complacent in things being someone else's problem....not a trait that I want to be known to have.
i was just an off duty passerby when i saw the car ahead of me hit a 6 year old girl, then leave the scene. i stopped, called 911 , kept the child from moving while we waited for ALS. facial fx, suspected c-spine, broken leg. state police were very glad i was there to give a description of the fleeing vehicle.
and i'd do that again.
and i'd do that again.