Preparing for road trips can save lives

  • Published
  • By Maj. JEFFEREY HUNTER
  • 56th Component Maintenance Squadron
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  There we were...heading south on Interstate 5, coming home from leave in Washington. There was a van loaded with luggage ahead and I noticed it gradually move from the right lane to the left. I figured the van was preparing to pass a slower vehicle. 

But the van drifted across the left lane and into the median. The driver managed to swerve back onto the road but overcorrected, went sideways, rolled twice and finally landed in an upright position off the right side of the road. 

I pulled over and ran to the van while my wife grabbed a blanket and the first aid kit that we'd had for years but never needed. The passengers, two women and two small boys, were wearing seatbelts. I asked the driver if they were OK and her first reaction was to check the boys in the backseat. 

Reaching through broken glass, I checked the younger boy; he was uninjured and firmly secured in a booster seat. The older boy, however, was crying at the sight of blood coming from his arm. Since he was moving his limbs, head and neck normally and struggling to get out, I unbuckled him and pulled him through the window. I grabbed a pillowcase from the van to use as a dressing and applied pressure to stop his bleeding. 

The boys' grandmother came to see how he was. However, she had sustained an injury to the back side of her forearm that needed immediate attention. My wife dressed and bandaged her arm, got everyone calmed down, and made sure someone with a cell phone called for help. 

Eventually, highway patrol and paramedics arrived and took the family to the hospital and we continued our trip home. 

So what's the point of this story? Well, there's a few lessons learned here.
First, if that family hadn't been wearing their seatbelts their injuries could have been much worse. It took about forty minutes for police and paramedics to arrive at the scene. If the injuries had been more severe, there was plenty of time to die from them. Always wear your seatbelt. 

Second, first aid training is important. At that time, I'd completed first aid training more than a dozen times but, until that moment, never had to apply it in the real world. Being able to assess the situation and knowing what to do finally paid off. You never know when you'll need it but knowing it could save a life...maybe someone you know. 

Third, never take the body's requirement for rest lightly. The accident happened because the driver fell asleep at the wheel and drifted off the road. The family was in the process of moving to New Jersey and the driver was fatigued even before she started driving. In fact, she told me she'd only been driving for a few hours when she dozed off. 

My last point is to be prepared. How many times have we heard or read to keep items such as a first aid kit, blanket, water, food, flares, etc. in our vehicles, especially on long trips? As I mentioned, we'd carried a first aid kit in our vehicle for years and never used it. There were several times when I thought about leaving it behind but I always took it just in case it was needed. This time I did and now I never leave home without it. 

Before you leave on your next trip, think about this story. Are you and your children wearing seatbelts at all times? Can you apply first aid techniques? Are you adequately rested for the drive or are you in such a hurry that you're ignoring your body's signals that you need some sleep? Do you have all those recommended items in your cars? Be prepared. Just remember: It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.