Thumbs up to Biker Down. And another good reason to buy the more expensive helmets that have the pull tags to release the cheek pads so the helmet more easily slides off.
Good post but Why not go and do a biker down course, bit more hands on( ha) than just watching a video
Did a Biker Down Course last year with Leicester Fire and Rescue, taught us a lot and debunked a lot of myths about First Aid and gave us a First Aid kit designed specially for Biker Down. Well worth finding your local course.
I'd recommend the Biker Down course too. It covers lots of good stuff, including how to manage an accident scene until the emergency services arrive. It's not limited to first aid for bikers. I believe they are usually run by serving fire officers, who have a lot of experience. On high-viz, "we drive big red lorries with flashing lights, and people still crash into us and say, sorry mate, I didn't see you". On recognising catastrophic bleeding, "if you look at a victim and think, 'that looks bad, I wonder if it's catastrophic bleeding', then it isn't. If you see a victim and think, 'f*!ck me, that's catastrophic bleeding', then it is.
I agree with Crispey, go and do the course in your local area. I did a First Biker on Scene course about 15 years ago run by the Lancashire Fire Service, by serving firefighters that were also bikers. As bikers, we tend to try to get out away from the crowds and traffic, often a good distance from help if it really was needed and what is taught on these courses can really make the difference to your mate who maybe has only you to rely on until professional help arrives which could be quite some time if you are in a remote area. These courses teach basic but life saving techniques that we can all do with just a little bit of know how and our bare hands....scene management, helmet removal (if necessary), c-spine stabilisation, airway management and CPR. Well done to the lady for producing the video and highlighting this issue.
Until I did the Biker Down course, I believed that you shouldn't try to take the helmet off an accident victim. They completely refuted this on the course, and showed how to do it correctly. And the late, great Dr John Hinds (if you haven't seen them, watch his videos on YouTube - informative, very funny, sometimes sad and a bit stomach-lurching), said that he hadn't seen a case when it was wrong to remove the helmet.
I couldn't agree more Jock, Dr John, what a guy, what a sad sad loss to the racing and medical communities. I work in the emergency services and as the lady said in the video, if the casualty is conscious, breathing, patent airway, just support their head and keep it stable, leave the helmet on. If they aren't breathing, have vomited or there is danger of losing the airway, that helmet has to come off, period. So just learning the simple technique of removal whilst fully supporting the head and c-spine in that neutral position, is paramount. The more people who learn the technique the better, after all, it'd be great to know that if the unspeakable happened to your mate whilst you were out riding with them you could potentially either A) save their life or B) make the difference of them riding a bike again or being in a wheelchair. It would also be great to know that if the unspeakable happened to you then your mate would be similarly equipped to help you. The video is great but the course is the way to go and get hands on practice and ask all those questions you may have that a video cannot answer. Some Bikesafe courses may include show the technique too.
