I've been seeing a lot of stuff lately about off duty personnel stopping at roadside emergencies. So to be clear I'm not here to discuss whether or not you will stop as that is a matter of personal opinion, scene safety and observation, and personal morals and ethics. However, say you do decide to stop, the scene is safe and you would like to render assistance, provide a calm helping hand, call 911 etc., what would you do when stopped to make it as safe as possible for yourself and others? I.e. Would you pull in front of the accident, behind or to the side opposite traffic in your personal vehicle? How would what you do differ from a street to a highway? And anything else you can think of!
How to safely stop at a roadside emergency off-duty
- Thread starter MikeEMTB
- Start date
CANMAN
Forum Asst. Chief
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FACT: Your car will not act as any sort of buffer for a potential collision involving another driver not paying attention doing highway speeds.
Resist the urge, protect yourself, dial 911, and keep driving. That is how you guarantee your safety.
Resist the urge, protect yourself, dial 911, and keep driving. That is how you guarantee your safety.
redundantbassist
Nefarious Dude
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I would try to avoid parking in/near the road at all. Call 911, then if it is safe to do so, take a look in the car to see if he is alright and inform him that that help is on the way.
CALEMT
The Other Guy/ Paramaybe?
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While I've never stopped at a T/C off duty in this "hypothetical" situation that you've outlined I would park my vehicle how I would park the ambulance on scene. I would park in front of the wreck, I would never park my vehicle in opposite lanes.
And as CANMAN already pointed out your POV won't act as a safe buffer... unless your POV is a fire engine which I hight doubt. Don't rely on anything that weighs under 20,000 pounds to act as a safe buffer.
And as CANMAN already pointed out your POV won't act as a safe buffer... unless your POV is a fire engine which I hight doubt. Don't rely on anything that weighs under 20,000 pounds to act as a safe buffer.
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Anytime you pull over on a busy road, you should strive to put some sort of physical separation between you and traffic (guardrails, barriers, a large curb). If not, distance is your friend. Also, if you are stoping at a traffic accident, consider where the incoming apparati will be parking and don't take their spot. And certainly don't argue when they ask you to move...