The role of a bystander in critical incidents is often underestimated. We all know that learning CPR is important because immediate intervention when a life threatening cardiac arrest occurs gives the victim the best chance of survival. This is also true for other critical life threatening events such as traumatic injuries. Whether Roadway crashes or mass casualty incidents, trained bystanders are the key to the best chance of survival. Over the past 20 years we have done much as a society to improve our Emergency Response. Highly trained and well-equipped responders arrive at most urban scenes in 5 minutes while rural scenes can take 30 minutes or more. In a case of severe bleeding a person can die from blood loss in a matter of minutes so it is important that bystanders know what to do. Here is an excellent video on bleeding control. You can also find more information at http://www.theday.com/

More training is always better. Recommendations for bleeding control is now:

• Direct Pressure
• Elevation
• Hemostatic Dressing (if you have one)
• Tourniquet (arms and legs)

ASM/Road Guardians recommends that you carry essential supplies in a Trauma Pack. Most First Aid kits do not contain the most important items needed to handle a traumatic incident. We build our own kits in house with varying sizes and price points, which can be viewed at: www.rgcompound.com

ASM Trauma related classes and professional instructors can be found at: https://roadguardians.org/schedule/ and https://roadguardians.org/instructor