Man of Honour
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2003
- Posts
- 91,834
- Location
- Falling...
... take the lead and be responsible.
I make no excuses for the rather flippant title and comments.
I am not after praise or to feel good about myself, but merely to share my experiences of this afternoon - with the hope that people read it and feel compelled to be good to their fellow human beings.
This evening I was directly behind an RTA - I saw everything from the gut feeling of "those two haven't seen each other, they're going to hit one another..." to "**** they hit each other".
Clearly, I pulled over (in a bus lane - oh well, I can worry about that later, got my CAD number from the police anyway).
The scene, utter chaos. People running about, people stopping, people taking pictures (WTF?!!) and people just walking by (Again, WTF?!).
The bloke on the bike was dazed and had slightly lost consciousness. The driver of the car was in tears.
A person came up to me for advice - and then I guess my leadership instincts took over, I told a person to call the emergency services, another person to get a coat/blanket, another person (who was a first aider) to keep the guy still, and ensure he doesn't move his neck, I had my high vis on (I was on my way back from one of our depots and had forgotten to take it off) and actually probably broke the law or something but stopped cars from coming down that road. I don't work in the emergency services (although work with the police regularly), but I manage people, logistics, and teams of people - maybe that helped? I don't know... I think I'm naturally happy to take charge.
First response ambulance comes along, sort out the biker, then shortly afterwards the ambulance comes along and ascertain that it was safe for him to move to the ambulance. I helped moved the bike and the car out of the way in time for the police to come along.
I gave my statement to the police and hung around to make sure the guy was ok, and found out something shocking. Over 70% of people don't stick around to be a witness or help?! WTF? What is wrong with people? Sure it inconvenienced me and meant I got home an hour late - but so what? I think most people ass/u/me (I did that on purpose) that others will deal with it. The paramedics and emergency services in general are so stretched, that we have a duty to make their lives easier and help them the best way we can - it's just not an excuse to say "someone else will probably deal with it".
Yes yes, I know it all sounds very "look at me" - it's not, and I shan't appreciate such comments.
Yes, we live in dark times with people who fear litigation and accusation, but we all have a duty of care to one another, no matter what the situation to one another - so don't be that person to turn a blind eye, do the right thing.
The more we behave like animals, the more likely we shall turn into worse creatures.
Think about it.
I make no excuses for the rather flippant title and comments.
I am not after praise or to feel good about myself, but merely to share my experiences of this afternoon - with the hope that people read it and feel compelled to be good to their fellow human beings.
This evening I was directly behind an RTA - I saw everything from the gut feeling of "those two haven't seen each other, they're going to hit one another..." to "**** they hit each other".
Clearly, I pulled over (in a bus lane - oh well, I can worry about that later, got my CAD number from the police anyway).
The scene, utter chaos. People running about, people stopping, people taking pictures (WTF?!!) and people just walking by (Again, WTF?!).
The bloke on the bike was dazed and had slightly lost consciousness. The driver of the car was in tears.
A person came up to me for advice - and then I guess my leadership instincts took over, I told a person to call the emergency services, another person to get a coat/blanket, another person (who was a first aider) to keep the guy still, and ensure he doesn't move his neck, I had my high vis on (I was on my way back from one of our depots and had forgotten to take it off) and actually probably broke the law or something but stopped cars from coming down that road. I don't work in the emergency services (although work with the police regularly), but I manage people, logistics, and teams of people - maybe that helped? I don't know... I think I'm naturally happy to take charge.
First response ambulance comes along, sort out the biker, then shortly afterwards the ambulance comes along and ascertain that it was safe for him to move to the ambulance. I helped moved the bike and the car out of the way in time for the police to come along.
I gave my statement to the police and hung around to make sure the guy was ok, and found out something shocking. Over 70% of people don't stick around to be a witness or help?! WTF? What is wrong with people? Sure it inconvenienced me and meant I got home an hour late - but so what? I think most people ass/u/me (I did that on purpose) that others will deal with it. The paramedics and emergency services in general are so stretched, that we have a duty to make their lives easier and help them the best way we can - it's just not an excuse to say "someone else will probably deal with it".
Yes yes, I know it all sounds very "look at me" - it's not, and I shan't appreciate such comments.
Yes, we live in dark times with people who fear litigation and accusation, but we all have a duty of care to one another, no matter what the situation to one another - so don't be that person to turn a blind eye, do the right thing.
The more we behave like animals, the more likely we shall turn into worse creatures.Think about it.
