This information was taken from molenda.com/accident.html
As motorcycle riders we are all aware of the inherent dangers and risks that we take when we mount our bikes and head out to enjoy a good ride. These dangers and risks become all too apparent when we are faced with situations when a fellow rider is involved in an accident.
The first hour of trauma is termed the "Golden Hour" by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Trauma victims have the best survival chance if they are in surgery within one hour after the accident. Qualified medical personnel are really the people who should be handling everything, but until they arrive there are things that we, untrained motorcyclists, can do to help the medical professionals before they arrive.
At an accident site, peoples' adrenaline will be going full-blast and the most important thing is for at least one person to keep calm and to think. The first thing you need to do when arriving on an accident scene is to stop and take two deep breaths to help you remain calm. This is especially important if you fit the `bad biker' image; the sight of you being overly excited would not be terribly reassuring to anyone. All the other people who are pumped and want to help will do whatever they are told to do by a calm person who seems to be in control and knows what he or she is doing. If you're excited and out of control, everyone will run around wasting precious time in an unorganized fashion.
After a person has gone down, they will be in a confused and scared state. They probably don't know what happened when they went down. They may be confused, frantic, etc., and often the only thing on their mind will be their bike. It is important to reassure them and to make sure they will not try to move or get to their bike. Say something on the order of, "You've been in a motorcycle accident. It is important that you do not try to move. An ambulance is coming. My name is ______"
Be careful what you say around the victim, even if they are unconscious. Hearing works in the unconscious state and if you say something like, "Boy, is this dude messed up bad! Maybe we shouldn't call an ambulance after all!", it's going to register at some level with the person and can do nothing but harm. How you say things will be important as what you say; keep (or at least sound) calm and it will reduce the panic of everyone else present.
An accident scene can be a hectic place with a lot of things going on at once. It is important to keep safety in mind; if you are helping someone lying in the middle of the road and a semi comes barreling down on both of you, you aren't going to do that person much good.
The person with the most training (first aid, CPR, etc.) attends directly to the victim. Assuming the victim is lying on the ground, this person should sit behind their head and should stabilize his or her head to avoid unnecessary movement (i.e. hold their head still). Assume the person has a back/neck injury and any unnecessary movement could risk paralysis.
This person should be doing "U-ABCC" at the arrival on the scene and every 5 minutes thereafter
It is very dangerous to remove someone's helmet if they have some type of cervical/back injury. The only time it should be removed is if the airway is blocked and cannot be cleared with the helmet on or if it is necessary to perform CPR.
If the airway is blocked or there's no respiratory action, then you should remove the helmet. The method recommended by the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons requires two people.
After there has been a quick evaluation of the number of injured people and just the most preliminary guess of seriousness, someone has to be sent to get an ambulance. Remember that one ambulance can only support one truly injured person.
It is important to remember that a lot of the injuries that don't look serious to us could very well be life-threatening and injuries that look fatal are sometimes relatively minor. If you can't tell, assume it's Urgent!
Send one or two bikes to the nearest house. If possible, send a woman. You don't have time to be turned away from someone's house. People are more likely to be receptive to a woman. The person going to the door should be wearing light colors; if someone else has a white jacket trade jackets before heading out for the house. Chances are the person going to the door will look friendlier wearing a light-colored outfit than black leathers.
When you go to the door, remain calm and think! Take a second and a couple of deep breaths. It will not help to be in a very excited state on the doorstep of some person's home. The people will be far more receptive to someone who looks like they have a grip on themselves.
Do not ask directly for entry into their house. Say something like "There has been an accident. Please call 911."
Do not go rooting through personal effects of the person. There should be no need to go through their wallet or purse for insurance information; the hospital personnel will deal with all of that. If there is some important reason that you need something from their wallet or purse, make sure you have at the very least a witness! Preferably a law enforcement officer if possible. If the person is conscious, ask first and if they say "no" then don't push it.
If the person has rings on, the fingers may swell up and it is important to get them off. Consent is paramount if the person is conscious. Make sure there is at least one witness when removing them.
Every 5 minutes the pulse should be checked at the wrist. If the pulse goes away at the wrist, check at the throat. This is a late sign of shock. Write down the number of beats per minute and the time you took the measurement.
Just like the pulse, check number of breaths per minute, the most reliable method being by placing your hand on the person's chest. Obviously if the victim is female it would be best to have another lady do this if at all possible. Try to check their breathing rate without their knowing it. If they know you are counting their respirations, they may unconsciously alter their breathing rate. Record this number along with the pulse every 5 minutes. Also note the type of breathing; fast, shallow, yodelling, gurgling, labored, easy, whatever. Even in layman's terms it may be useful to the paramedics.
There isn't much we can do once someone starts going into shock, but a few minor things that may help:
Two important things here are to (a) stop any bleeding as soon as possible and (b) keep the wounds sanitary as much as possible. (a) is far more important than (b). Peripheral limbs are commonly lost to infection, but given the choice between stopping bleeding and using a nonsanitary cover, using the nonsanitary wrapping is preferred. Blood loss is bad. Wounds can be cleaned at a hospital.
If sterile dressings are not immediately available, women in the group may be carrying sanitary tampons, or Kotex napkins. Either can be used as a sterile dressing, although obviously the sanitary napkins would be superior.
EXCEPTION: If there are cuts anywhere on the head, do NOT apply pressure. If there is a bone chip it is possible to push it into the brain. It is also possible that stopping the flow of blood or cerebral spinal fluid can lead to a buildup of pressure on the brain which is not good. You should still bandage the cuts loosely.
Before the ambulance arrives, send people to the intersections in all directions to watch for/direct the ambulance.
When the ambulance arrives, it is important to stay out of their way as much as possible. Meet them and identify yourself as being "in charge" and to be the person to contact if they need anything (bikes moved, people moved, whatever). Make sure you
It is important to give the ambulance people the most accurate information possible! If the person just had 10 beers in the past hour, tell them! They are not the law enforcement officials and their only immediate concern is the safety of the patient. By underestimating, trying to cover up, or not telling the whole truth, you are only keeping important information away from them which may be necessary for the safety of the patient.
If the helmet was removed, send it along in the ambulance. The doctors may use the visible damage to the helmet to assist them in what to look for in terms of injuries.
If there were leaking fluids, let the medical personnel know. The fluids may have gotten on the patient and they need to know if there was oil, gas, brake fluid or something like that on an open wound.
Only have one or two people in the Emergency Room at a time. If the doctors have questions and neither of the people in the ER know the answer, send one of them out to the other people to find out the answer. Crowding everyone into the ER will only make it more stressful and difficult for the ER staff to do their jobs.
Leathers will have to be cut off by medical personnel. Be mentally prepared for it. If they do not cut off your clothes, they will not be able to do a proper assessment of the wounds and you are not being treated properly! If you are conscious and insist that they do not cut your leathers, they cannot by law. If you are unconscious, it is implied consent and they will remove them if in doubt.
As with the ambulance, when law enforcement arrives identify yourself as being "in charge". Let them know that if there is anything they need, such as bikes moved or people moved, you are the person to talk to.
For them, walking on to a scene of bikers who are all in a very excited state is intimidating and this will help calm them and give them some easy way to control the bike people. Again, this is the psychological management that Slider talked about.
It is obviously important to do whatever the law enforcement officials ask.