Seriously, why wouldn’t any rider consider this to be a valuable course? A course that highlighted the types of accidents that happen to riders and how to deal with typical injuries sustained.
I discovered this course through a lady who decided to ride across Australia and wrote about it on Instagram.
The lovely couple who run the course, Tracy (another Monster 821 owner) and Roger, decided to develop it as a result of too many accidents happening where people had no idea what to do. You can read their story here.
We arrived a little late on a Saturday morning at Ryde Rehab centre, the course has a lot of content so Tracy, wisely, started on time and didn’t wait for us stragglers.
The course very much focussed on motorbike accidents, how they most often happen, what injuries are usually sustained and the mistakes people make when ‘trying to help’.
We ran through the DRSABC (omitting the last D since most people don’t carry a fully charged defibrillator in their car or on their motorbike).
For those unfamiliar with DRSABC, this is a mnemonic to remember the key things to do when coming across an accident.
D stands for Danger – check around, make sure you are not going to endanger yourself or others when offering help noting that motorbike accidents often happen on roads with traffic, electrocution, other people and fuel being key dangers. We were also reminded of the importance of securing an accident scene by parking other motorbikes (if available) ahead of the accident to warn other road users of impending danger, and to check if there might have been a pillion thrown off into nearby vegetation. This is also the time to identify any further potential dangers for the casualties although subject to the golden rule: unless you must, don’t move a casualty.
R stands for Response, approaching the fallen rider from the front (so they don’t have to move to see you) and seeking a response from them is key.
S is all about seeking help in the form of calling the emergency services or sending someone off to do this, because once you know someone is coming to help, you can focus on the first aid.
A is for airway, checking to see if the airway is clear ie not blocked with liquids or foreign objects, then moving onto…
B for breathing, checking if the rider is breathing by listening and seeing if the chest is moving, if not then…
C for cardiopulmonary resuscitation ie CPR, start it to save life.
Along with the basics, we learnt how to deal with key injuries, how to move a rider using an emergency blanket and how to remove a full face helmet in the event that the fallen rider isn’t breathing normally; this last skill was surprisingly easy.
My key takeaway was to never ever move the fallen rider following an accident, due to the likelihood of a spinal injury unless the fallen rider is in danger of dying, always, we were reminded that it was life over limb, even if it meant further damage because an alive person is better than a dead one.
We also took the opportunity to increase the quality of our first aid kit with emergency shears for removing clothing and possibly a chin strap which may be obstructing an airway, and also for our safety, a waterproof emergency information tag which secures to our helmets just in case…
Sobering stuff, indeed, but I would much rather have the skills to do what I can in a situation like this than not especially as Gary and I are the only people for miles around on many of our rides. I would highly recommend this course to anyone, ideally in conjunction with a standard first aid course although this would definitely be better than no course at all and an important add-on to the basics.
Lady on Motorbike 