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When the weather changes so should driving habits.

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  • When the weather changes so should driving habits.

    So it's pissing rain as per the usual and I'm driving a few coworkers who don't have cars of their own and live nearby (I'm not thatnice after all). When Mr.Fastandfurious comes zooming past. Now it's raining hard enough that you can barely see the road let alone other idiots on said road. But this idiot is one of those ones who keeps changing lanes because following another car is for lesser folks.

    So we all hear the disaster happen before we see it. It turns out the aforementioned idiot from earlier didn't see that the cars ahead had slowed down due to congestion. Because hey, everyone else works to, imagine that!

    Well either he plowed into them, unable to stop because of his speed, or he tried to stop and hydroplaned into them... At speeds of over 100. I know because when he passed me he was going at least 100 in an 80zone.

    I would like to point out here that due to my training and the type of training I've had I legally have to stop and assist in the case of a mass triage event or HAZMAT event of the big kind. I am criminally liable if I don't.

    So I pull over and put my four ways on, and grab Burt and Ernie from the back
    (Burt is my Level 3 Kit and Ernie is my Military M17 Combat Medic Kit. I come from a very much military family, hence the ridiculous first aid training amongst other stuff), I tell my coworkers to one, dial 911 and stay on the line so I can forward info, 2-someone else call work and explain why we aren't coming in today, 3-grab the flashlights, blankets, and bundle of priority stickers, and glow sticks of doom and follow me on the shitastic adventure of a decade.

    While I herd everyone who looks like they were missed and the looky loos to help. I go over the basics of this is how the triage colours work, this is how to catagorize casualties. Keep calm because calm is contagious and freaked out bleeding people bleed faster when freaked out. It's not a very difficult system. Slap a sticker on them.
    Black for dead
    Red for immediate high priority.
    Yellow for oh shit this could get bad
    Green for those who can do without medical treatment for a few hours.

    The glowsticks serve two purposes. One, people tend to fear the dark and being alone and in pain tends to freak them out. The glow stick is also not enough light to really take stock of injuries. Two, and more importantly, it's hard to miss something glowing. When I picked them up at the dollar store I colour coded them (red-yellow) so that the worst off could be easily spotted. This is neither standard issue or procedure but I find it helps in shitty conditions and mass triage events tend to be pretty shitty conditions.

    (Also, lighting up black casualties is a bad bad idea so it's not done. It's also why they are referred to as 'black casualties' and not 'dead' or 'bodies' as the human mind is a powerful thing. People hear black and assume the skin colour rather then dead body. Which means they don't think 'he died maybe I'm next' and if it doesn't cross their mind they are much less likely to go from red to dead, or yellow to red. I've known the walking wounded to go from green and helpful to suddenly in shock and much less helpful because the reality of death just smacked them in the face. Until then the human mind might realize it at the back of their brain but they are sort of disassociated from the idea until some asshat points it out.)

    We work back to front so as to not miss anyone.
    Those with actual first aid training however basic teach are paired with absolutely none as the second wave follows with blankets, coats, and anything that can keep the rain off and shock at bay. While applying basic first aid to casualties.

    Things like talking to them, finding out their name and using it all help them keep conscious (people are taught from a young age that it's rude to ignore it when someone calls your name and so when they hear their name it sort of instinctively catches their attention. Kinda like a morbid version of Pavlos Bell). Applying pressure with bandages or tourniquets, having someone plant their elbows and hold a head (and thus neck and spine) in place. Reminding them help is on the way... All things that are small and easy to do but have a larger impact over all then one would think. Getting someone to corral and keep the kids busy so the parents can help without having to worry about their kid seeing something they shouldn't.

    Someone had those reflective cones in the back of their car which were pulled out and used to prevent a second person from playing bumper cars.

    My shadowing coworker kept a count to the person on the phone over how many and what colours of casualties there were.
    Ambulances pulled up, were organized in such a way that they were able to stop, park, grab whomever, and pull forward and out in such a way that didn't require backing up or fancy manoeuvring. They were told what was going on, and did their thing while I unashamedly sat out in a corner.

    Thankfully kids were mostly in school so there were no injuries to any kids and most of the drivers were 20s or older. Adults for some reason don't bother me so much.

    For those that are interested.

    | [accident scene] |
    | |x [my car/command central]
    |[Ambo][A][A] [1]|
    | |

    (1)gap left so that the ambulances could merely pull forward
    (2) cones were placed across the road with enough space for an Ambo to park between them. This allowed for a clear marked place to park and a means of letting people know there was a problem before the ambos got there.

    As far as I know, nobody but the idiot who caused the accident died. But everyone he hit with his car was in the red. Better red then dead though.

    Now I have to restock Burt and Ernie. Yes I named them. Yes I do in fact realize just how screwed up and morbid that is.
    Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

  • #2
    Thank you for stopping and helping people that were hurt. Some people should not be allowed to drive, but at least they didn't kill anyone else in this accident.

    Bert and Ernie are cool names for your First Aid kits. (Now I have 'Rubber Ducky' in my head again, but don't worry because I have it on my laptop and can play it anytime I like.) Maybe add some of those reflective cones to your boot too? They would be handy for accidents at night as well as low visibility times.
    A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read. - Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

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    • #3
      Quoth Blue Ginger View Post
      Thank you for stopping and helping people that were hurt. Some people should not be allowed to drive, but at least they didn't kill anyone else in this accident.

      Bert and Ernie are cool names for your First Aid kits. (Now I have 'Rubber Ducky' in my head again, but don't worry because I have it on my laptop and can play it anytime I like.) Maybe add some of those reflective cones to your boot too? They would be handy for accidents at night as well as low visibility times.
      They used to have other names but I forgot what they were, either way I was told that was morbid even for me and my friend's made me change their names.

      I agree though, some people should not be behind a wheel. As far as stopping goes, aside from legalities, I know full well that I've got first aid skills that you don't generally see outside the ER or the military. If I got them I should use them since I know that other civilians assuming they have first aid at all wouldn't have the necessary training that in this case might just have saved lives. Not just in what was done to the casualties but the organization of relieving services and organization that made sure everyone got what they needed in a timely fashion. Any First Responder is taught how to read the tags used in Triage and mass casualty events. I made sure that I was using a system that was standardized and they already understood. Despite the glow sticks not being standard procedure as soon as someone realized the colours weren't accidental used be surprised how quickly those reds disappeared into the Ambos.

      I do intend to add traffic comes to the list of shit in the back, though I'm quickly running out of space.
      Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

      Comment


      • #4
        Morbid? Perhaps. If it helps you make it through the shit, I'm not going to pass judgement. If I'm the one who's ass you're keeping in the non-black, "Whatever! Best idea name EVAR! (keep working please)"

        As for your skill set, I'm damn glad you've got it. It's a damned hard job doing triage. Sucks to have need of it, but there's another batch of 'colorful' people still around because of it.

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        • #5
          I wouldn't call naming them morbid. It's taking the edge off of what they are needed for. We have enough dark things in life all around us. Something like a silly name can calm for a moment giving us time to think.

          The glow sticks are a brilliant idea. They can give the second wave of responders a clue of where they are needed before they even get close, saving those precious seconds that some of the reds have so few of.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Arcus View Post
            I wouldn't call naming them morbid. It's taking the edge off of what they are needed for. We have enough dark things in life all around us. Something like a silly name can calm for a moment giving us time to think.

            The glow sticks are a brilliant idea. They can give the second wave of responders a clue of where they are needed before they even get close, saving those precious seconds that some of the reds have so few of.
            Arcus summed up everything I'm thinking very well. I have nothing to add, except offering virtual hugs, chocolate, and purry cat for stress relief.
            "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

            "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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            • #7
              I've seen the reflective 'cones' that fold flat for storage. They would take up less room in the boot and still be seen. Found these with a 2 minute google.

              https://www.wasafety.com.au/work-saf...down-Triangles
              https://nitebeams.com/products/emerg...nt=49705292685

              I love the glow sticks colour coded to the 'tags'. I wonder if that is something that could become standard, especially for night/low visibility incidents?
              A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read. - Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

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              • #8
                Holy s**t, you are awesome!!!
                “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
                One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
                The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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                • #9
                  Quoth Arcus View Post
                  I wouldn't call naming them morbid. It's taking the edge off of what they are needed for. We have enough dark things in life all around us. Something like a silly name can calm for a moment giving us time to think.
                  Oh believe me I can have an incredibly dark and morbid sense of humor sometimes. Comes from being born to a family that has been entirely military since the second crusade. Strangely enough, trying to raise kids on a military base or on occasion an actual camp while PTSDing before it was ever recognized as a thing, tends to screw people up. Then having those kids grow up to be military because that's really all they've ever known and have them repeat the cycle over and over again. Leaves you with a pretty screwed up family. After so many years my family is no longer capable of living in a civilian lifestyle. Most of them are to screwed up and desensitized to violence that they don't see a problem with teaching a kid under the double digits how to sew small wounds. They don't see why they should by fireworks for New Years rather then dig out the old box of (probably decommissioned) grenades from various different country's militaries and teaching a kid how to throw them. After all they both go boom right?

                  There's a reason I did my 6months and got out asap. Unlike seemingly the rest of my family I am capable of realizing that most kids have a problem when their classmate falls and breaks their arm. They don't calmly stabilize the damn thing and ask someone to please call the ambulance in a calm voice. Most kids freak out and run to an adult because that's normal. As was driven home to me repeatedly in school though I got better at mimicking the normal responses as I got older though I still slip up often. Too much conditioning over my life. Probably why I have such minor authority issues.

                  Quoth Arcus View Post
                  The glow sticks are a brilliant idea. They can give the second wave of responders a clue of where they are needed before they even get close, saving those precious seconds that some of the reds have so few of.
                  My thinking was that in poor visibility, night time, or conditions where there's a lot of debris and rubble that even if you tagged them if nobody was looking for a person there and they didn't immediately see the tag them they wouldn't necessarily see them. Between poor conditions and adrenaline and the general slightly organized chaos that is any triage event it's easy to miss things or overlook something you thought you checked. I just figured big glowing sticks would be pretty damn difficult to miss and it would prevent lives lost where no life needs to be lost. Besides, if someone were to be partially buried in rubble, say from an earthquake, it could be hard to see as there's less of a body there to make out. If they've landed in a pocket or something and can't be immediately extracted without turning it into a poor game of Janga then shoving a bit of light in there would help keep them calm and attract attention. If there are other survivors that were overlooked or missed they would be attracted to the light and gravitate towards it if possible. Or someone could use a light to flag a responder in event they see someone that was missed. Glow sticks also have the advantage over a flashlight or other means in that everyone knows how to light them up and it requires very little effort to do so.

                  It just seems logical to me. Flashlights are steadier light but they also tend to be bulky and usually white. Glow sticks can come in a range of colours and can be seen from a distance.

                  You don't have to walk up to a casualty to check their tag and know what colour they are. You can literally see the information as soon as you are within sight range. You can get an accurate count without having to waste time going person to person checking everyone.

                  If there's two people equal distance away but in different directions, without the glow sticks it means walking to one and then the other and doing what you can. With the glow sticks you can prioritize and head in the direction of the red casualty before checking the yellow one. It saves a few precious minutes of running back and forth that someone might not have. It's also hard to look at someone you know you could fix and walk away because they aren't in immediate danger while others have far more pressing injuries. It removes the temptation of just doing that one thing to make a yellow more comfortable before going into the red a few feet away because you would immediately head to the Reds before checking up on the yellows.

                  I think, rather then my own supposed genius, the reason it's not standard is because of how easy it is to light up glow sticks accidentally. We've all had one of those packages of sticks where that one glow stick refuses to light up because at some point it had already been snapped and the glow long worn off.

                  I still say it's just logic. Especially since a disaster that happens during the day might necessitate continuing rescue efforts into the night as well.

                  I've also heard of using dyed blankets which serves a double purpose in increased visibility and keeping warm. I've toyed with the idea of reflective tape as its starting to come in more colours and a flashlight bouncing off it would serve the same purpose. But tape can get covered in grime and blood which would then make it ineffective. It also doesn't come in the right colours yet that I know of but its been awhile since I checked.
                  Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

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                  • #10
                    More applause for your mad skills. One bit from the very end of your last comment -- reflective tape doesn't come in red and yellow? My immediate response there is "why the hell not?" I'd think that would be the first colors they made!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thanks for what you do and did there; and for explaining how and why you do it. I'm sure the first responders really appreciated having someone on scene helping organize the chaos as they arrived.

                      The glow sticks and the reflective tape both seem like excellent ideas. if you are in contact with groups for other similarly trained folks, you should probably share those ideas. I don't know what companies might make kits for your type of skills, but it might be a good idea to write to them and suggest the tape and/or glow sticks as well. I'm sure they'd always be looking for more revenue opportunities.

                      One thing you didn't emphasize but which I noticed you said you did, was you specifically told Coworker 1 to call 911. It's always good to tell a particular person to do a task when you can. Otherwise everyone tends to assume someone else will (or has) done the task and it doesn't get done.

                      Anyway, glad no one died, and hopefully the red's will recover quickly. Thank you again for what you did.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Love the color coded glowsticks idea.

                        They used to have other names but I forgot what they were, either way I was told that was morbid even for me
                        Gomez and Morticia?

                        Call 'em what you gotta to keep them distinct in yer mind. Nothing wrong with that.
                        "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                        "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                        "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                        "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
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                        Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
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                        • #13
                          One of the Gentlemen that regularly teaches the Level 2 climbing course for the BSA uses a similar system. He coordinates rescues for the Red River Gorge region and he has his equipment bags and ropes color coded for length and what type of equipment is in the bag.

                          Really anything that makes life easier so you can gain information at a glance is extremely useful.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth EricKei View Post
                            Love the color coded glowsticks idea.

                            Gomez and Morticia?

                            Call 'em what you gotta to keep them distinct in yer mind. Nothing wrong with that.
                            Actually yes, how'd you know? Then I was told to change it and it ended up being Freddy and Jason...which I was told was worse, but hey, they say laughter is the best medicine... And the expressions from others I would get because I asked them to get them out of my trunk by name...

                            Apparently I'm "one disturbed individual", to which I reply "thank you for noticing." I need to stop using humanity as a source of personal entertainment... But it's just so much fun.

                            I always thought that the kind of people who become doctors and surgeons could very easily have become serial killers if they didn't have as many morals. Really, both like to cut people open and poke at your insides...specially if your insides have been relocated to your outsides. But apparently I'm alone in being creeped out by everyone in the medical profession.
                            Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hey, we all have our coping mechanisms. I tend to get very businesslike in times of crisis, then collapse in fits of giggles at totally inappropriate moments of stress... I love all those names for your gear, although Freddy & Jason wouldn't be a pair I'd pick simply because I don't think of them as a pair.
                              This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
                              I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

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