Traffic accident: What to do and first aid

In the event of a traffic accident, it is very important to know what to do and what first aid to provide, as this can save the victim’s life.

Traffic accidents such as rollovers, being run over or head-on collisions can occur due to poor road conditions or visibility, excessive speed, or changes in the driver’s perception, for example, due to the consumption of alcohol or other substances, such as drugs.

What to do?

The first step should be to signal the location of the accident, placing the triangle and wearing the reflective vest, to avoid other accidents and then call an ambulance, calling 192, the Brazilian emergency number or 112, the emergency number from Portugal.

When calling the emergency number, information such as:

• What happened;
• Where the victim is;
• Whether or not the victim is conscious;
• If the victim breathes;
• If the victim has an object on his body, such as a helmet;
• If the victim has any bleeding;
• If the victim is trapped somewhere.

At no time should you try to move the person, nor remove the helmet, if it is on, as this avoids moving the victim’s head and spine, which may be injured.

To find out whether the victim is conscious, questions can be asked, such as: whether the person is listening, what their name is, whether they know where they are and what happened, checking whether the answers are correct. If the person does not respond and is not breathing, it is important to ask for help from people nearby and start cardiac massage until medical help arrives. Learn how to do cardiac massage correctly.

It is also important that the person moves away from the location where the victim is, if there is a danger of fire or explosion.

First aid in case of an accident

First aid is provided at the scene of the traffic accident and serves to prevent future complications in the victim’s health.

It is important to avoid crowds of people near the victim, keeping the path clear so that when the ambulance arrives it can immediately locate the person and act more quickly.

The most important steps when providing first aid in an accident are:

1. Reassure the victim

Reassuring the victim is a very important step because if the person is agitated they could end up moving and worsening their situation. It is recommended to explain to the victim what happened, mention that an ambulance has already been called, and ask them not to move.

In order to calm the victim, you can try to make him breathe more calmly, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth slowly.

2. Keep the victim warm

Keeping the victim warm is essential to prevent their condition from worsening and, to this end, it is necessary to protect them, for example, by placing a coat or blankets over the person, so that they maintain as much of their body heat as possible. preventing hypothermia. As soon as possible, it is recommended to take the person to a warm place and, if the person has wet clothes, they should be removed.

See first aid for hypothermia.

3. Control possible bleeding

After a traffic accident, if the victim has an external hemorrhage, it is important that they lie down and, it is recommended that whoever is helping, put on gloves, and then place a sterile compress or a clean cloth on the site of the hemorrhage, making pressure for at least 10 minutes. Furthermore, if the bleeding is in the arm or leg, the limb should be kept elevated to reduce the amount of blood that comes out.

Find out more about what to do when there is bleeding.

First aid kit for traffic accidents

To facilitate first aid in the event of a traffic accident, it is recommended to have a first aid kit in the car, which includes:

• 1 pack of sterilized compresses, in small, large and medium sizes;
• 1 pack of band-aids;
• 1 package of sterilized dressings, large, medium and small;
• 1 cotton package;
• 1 bottle of 0.9% saline solution;
• 4 ligatures;
• 1 tweezers;
• 1 scissors;
• 1 flashlight;
• 1 pack of disposable gloves;
• Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, allergy and ointment for burns and insect bites;
• 1 fire blanket, if possible.

​​In a traffic accident there may be serious injuries that need to be treated only by medical staff, however, first aid can help save the victim’s life.

Also check out how to prepare a first aid kit to have at home.

How to reduce the risk of having a traffic accident

To avoid or reduce the consequences of a traffic accident, it is important that the driver does not consume alcohol or other substances, such as drugs, before driving, that he maintains attention while driving, avoiding being distracted by his cell phone, for example, in addition to Always put on your seat belt.

In the case of pedestrians, it is important to look before crossing the street and anticipate possible driver behaviors, such as not stopping at a crosswalk or running a yellow light.