steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
These tips could help save your life
No matter how good a rider you are, accidents happen—and quickly. But with a little knowledge and a few precautions, you can keep a bad situation from getting worse.
Cyclists get used to riding all day and things being fine. It’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re traveling pretty fast and pretty far and a little mishap can end up being a big problem. A little knowledge and precaution goes a long way in keeping you safe in the event of an accident.
Leave a Note, or a Text:
Riding alone? Take two seconds to leave a note or send a text to a loved one or a friend. We’re all guilty of not doing this, We go out for a quick ride and nobody knows where we’re going. Even if you’re just 10 miles away, you might as well be 100 miles away if no one knows where you are. The more remote of a place you ride, the more important it is to let someone know where we are going.
Take Your Mobile Phone With You
Carry your mobile phone with you, it doesn’t weigh much, you don’t have to stop and answer it if it rings BUT it could save your life in the event of an accident or incident
Take Care of Your Head:
Head injuries are always a cause for concern. You hear about it in skiing, but it can also happen in cycling. Someone falls and hits their head and they shake it off. Then later they don’t feel well and it turns out they have bleeding on the brain. That can kill you. You always need to take an impact to the head seriously.
The same applies whether you wear a helmet or not, In short, call 999 or at the very least 111 (NHS Helpline) if you or another rider has:
• ... a cracked helmet That means you’ve hit your head hard.
• ... a headache. Not just sore from the initial impact, but you have a headache that isn’t abating or is worsening.
• ... lost consciousness. or if you pass out
• ... confusion. If you don’t know what day of the week it is or why you’re sitting on the side of the road,.
• ... vision changes. If the world doesn’t appear clear and normal, you need medical assistance.
Take a Deep Breath:
Difficulty breathing is always an emergency situation. Too often people crash and think they’ve cracked a rib, but figure ‘Why go to the hospital? They can’t do anything about it. But you need to go because those cracked ribs can have sharp edges and if it’s an unstable fracture and it shifts, you can puncture a lung. If it hurts to take a deep breath, get to the A&E dept of your local hospital
Give Yourself a Gut Check:
There’s a lot of vulnerable soft tissue and plenty of vital organs in your belly that can be damaged by impact with a handlebar. Take your hands and palpate your abdominal area. If you have an area that is more tender than others, you could have internal damage. If your belly becomes distended or firm, that’s a sign that you could have internal bleeding and need medical assistance, as above get to you’re A&E dept.
Stop the Bleeding:
Unless you’re a trained professional, forget what you’ve seen in the movies about fashioning a
tourniquet around a limb to stop the bleeding. You risk doing more damage than good. The best
way to deal with bleeding is basic first aid—direct pressure (preferably with something clean) on the wound. Keep it there till help arrives. Elevate the damaged limb where possible to help stem the flow of blood.
Be Smart About Your Spine:
Neck and back injuries are scary. You can generally tell if you’re okay by checking your fingers and toes. Obviously, you want to be able to feel your fingers and toes, but if you have any numbness and/or tingling, that’s not good. You could have spinal injury. Also try slowly turning your head 45 degrees to the left and right. If you feel discomfort, stop. That’s also a sign of spinal injury. Get to the A&E.
Make Your Personal Info Accessible:
Whether you use your BC Id card, dog tags, or place ICE ('in case of emergency') information in your mobile phone, having your personal information available for emergency workers can definitely save your life, They need to know your medications and your allergies. There are a lot of medications they can’t give you if you’re allergic to them… and they won’t give them if they don’t know. New iPhones come with a Health app that provides a place for you to fill in all your medical information. Emergency personnel can access this information without unlocking your phone. They know to look for it if you’re out there by yourself, unconscious, after a crash.
No matter how good a rider you are, accidents happen—and quickly. But with a little knowledge and a few precautions, you can keep a bad situation from getting worse.
Cyclists get used to riding all day and things being fine. It’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re traveling pretty fast and pretty far and a little mishap can end up being a big problem. A little knowledge and precaution goes a long way in keeping you safe in the event of an accident.
Leave a Note, or a Text:
Riding alone? Take two seconds to leave a note or send a text to a loved one or a friend. We’re all guilty of not doing this, We go out for a quick ride and nobody knows where we’re going. Even if you’re just 10 miles away, you might as well be 100 miles away if no one knows where you are. The more remote of a place you ride, the more important it is to let someone know where we are going.
Take Your Mobile Phone With You
Carry your mobile phone with you, it doesn’t weigh much, you don’t have to stop and answer it if it rings BUT it could save your life in the event of an accident or incident
Take Care of Your Head:
Head injuries are always a cause for concern. You hear about it in skiing, but it can also happen in cycling. Someone falls and hits their head and they shake it off. Then later they don’t feel well and it turns out they have bleeding on the brain. That can kill you. You always need to take an impact to the head seriously.
The same applies whether you wear a helmet or not, In short, call 999 or at the very least 111 (NHS Helpline) if you or another rider has:
• ... a cracked helmet That means you’ve hit your head hard.
• ... a headache. Not just sore from the initial impact, but you have a headache that isn’t abating or is worsening.
• ... lost consciousness. or if you pass out
• ... confusion. If you don’t know what day of the week it is or why you’re sitting on the side of the road,.
• ... vision changes. If the world doesn’t appear clear and normal, you need medical assistance.
Take a Deep Breath:
Difficulty breathing is always an emergency situation. Too often people crash and think they’ve cracked a rib, but figure ‘Why go to the hospital? They can’t do anything about it. But you need to go because those cracked ribs can have sharp edges and if it’s an unstable fracture and it shifts, you can puncture a lung. If it hurts to take a deep breath, get to the A&E dept of your local hospital
Give Yourself a Gut Check:
There’s a lot of vulnerable soft tissue and plenty of vital organs in your belly that can be damaged by impact with a handlebar. Take your hands and palpate your abdominal area. If you have an area that is more tender than others, you could have internal damage. If your belly becomes distended or firm, that’s a sign that you could have internal bleeding and need medical assistance, as above get to you’re A&E dept.
Stop the Bleeding:
Unless you’re a trained professional, forget what you’ve seen in the movies about fashioning a
tourniquet around a limb to stop the bleeding. You risk doing more damage than good. The best
way to deal with bleeding is basic first aid—direct pressure (preferably with something clean) on the wound. Keep it there till help arrives. Elevate the damaged limb where possible to help stem the flow of blood.
Be Smart About Your Spine:
Neck and back injuries are scary. You can generally tell if you’re okay by checking your fingers and toes. Obviously, you want to be able to feel your fingers and toes, but if you have any numbness and/or tingling, that’s not good. You could have spinal injury. Also try slowly turning your head 45 degrees to the left and right. If you feel discomfort, stop. That’s also a sign of spinal injury. Get to the A&E.
Make Your Personal Info Accessible:
Whether you use your BC Id card, dog tags, or place ICE ('in case of emergency') information in your mobile phone, having your personal information available for emergency workers can definitely save your life, They need to know your medications and your allergies. There are a lot of medications they can’t give you if you’re allergic to them… and they won’t give them if they don’t know. New iPhones come with a Health app that provides a place for you to fill in all your medical information. Emergency personnel can access this information without unlocking your phone. They know to look for it if you’re out there by yourself, unconscious, after a crash.
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