The "rider down" scenario...

Recently, I had the opportunity to be the sweeper on a group ride and had the experience of a "rider down" scenario. Unless you have been there, you have no clue as to how fast things have to happen and the order in which they have to occur in the event of an accident. Some say that until you live it, you will never know it. All you can really do is read, learn and prepare for when it actually happens to you.

The number of mistakes, whether they are small or large, that one can make at that critical moment can cause irreparable harm to those we ride with. So maybe a short missive on the "rider down" scenario and an overall review is in order so that what you do when it happens to you will be good enough to get you off the street and shaking out the adrenaline surge. In the event that you are asked to be a sweeper, or you want to fulfill the position of sweeper, read this entry two or three times. Commit some of it to memory. Knowing the steps right now means that you aren't guessing when it happens.

The ride "Pre-load" for emergency situations

Before each ride starts, some crucial steps need to be taken to make a rider-down or emergency situation turn out OK. Some of these steps should be done verbally as an announcement prior to the ride starting. But no matter what, having the "pre-load" done before the ride starts can prevent many bad things from happening later on.

1. Identify the Sweep Captain - He/She should be known to the group as a whole.
2. Identify which member(s) in the ride group has an adequate first-aid kit. Know it now, so that you aren't asking who has it when you need it the most.
3. Identify anyone in the group who has medical / emergency training.
4. Those involved in the Sweep operation should have personal/hazard flashers (either fusee or battery operated) or flashlights which can be used to warn traffic of a situation. Not having them and needing them can get you and members of your group injured.
5. Remind all riders in the group to have an EMERGENCY CONTACT information placed in their cell phone. Have them mark the entry in thier phones as "ICE". This is used by Emergency Vehicle personnel as well. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_case_of_emergency)
6. If the group will be traveling in areas where bike instability could be a concern, cover the basics of "easy throttle" and "soft braking". Remind everyone to leave room between riders when road conditions are less than ideal.
7. As a two-up sweeper, do you have a second radio that can be used if the tail-gunner needs to be set-up down the road? If not, can you get one from the group or can you easily remove the unit from your motorcycle?
8. Those people riding sweep should also know where emergency items are on all of the sweep motorcycles. If the Sweep Captain has emergency road flares/flashers, let the others in the sweep group know where they are. Share your emergency stores locations with the other sweep riders.
9. Make sure those riders who are new to the group and/or may be riding in their first group ride are positioned behind the number two rider. Make sure that you discuss the way the group rides, including stagger, passing, communications and radio procedures.
10. If a rider makes the decision to strike out on their own, make sure they leave someone with an idea of the route they are taking and about what time they will arrive at the group destination.

Sweeper Steps to an emergency situation - In Order

The Sweeper, on hearing of a rider down, or having one happen just in front of them, must secure their own personal safety immediately. THIS IS CRITICAL! You are useless in an emergency or to the group if you are injured or unable to assist.

Above all, remain calm. Take a deep breath and force yourself to think clearly.

Immediately notify the group as to the situation. Sound off on the radio or dispatch a rider if necessary to notify those in the group that an emergency has occurred. If you are unable to notify anyone in your group, work the scene first and elicit the help of others as they come upon your location.

Make sure your emergency flashers on. If others motorcycles are with you, get them to turn on their flashers immediately. You would be surprised at how often this step is missed. Again, things happen quickly. Sometimes we get to thinking so much about our next steps that we forget the current step of making sure the flashers are running.

Above all, remain calm. Take a deep breath and force yourself to think clearly.

If you are the sweeper riding two-up, have your tail-gunner bail and head back down the road to notify traffic that something has occurred or assign the job to another rear guard rider. If you are riding sweeper as a single and this happens right in front of you, the sweeper bike will have to be moved down the road and it will have to handle the job of making sure an oncoming vehicle does not cause anyone else injury. Make sure the flashers are running once you have the bike positioned.

If you are off the bike and positioned down the road, a very real concern may be local visibility. It could be dark, twilight or just plain overcast. People driving on the road behind you could have a problem picking you out in a badly lit situation. Get your flashlight out (carried on your person) or pull a red light flasher out of your pocket and activate it immediately. If you can, invest in small "pocket" based lights that can be quickly pulled from a pocket and turned on so that you can be seen.

Above all, remain calm. Take a deep breath and force yourself to think clearly.

Once all of the above has been handled, work the emergency. Make sure it is safe to approach the scene. Is gas leaking? Is the accident in a strange place that would require you to place yourself in a precarious position. Make sure that it is safe to approach the rider and/or the vehicle. Next, make sure all person(s) involved in the rider-down scenario are out of harm's way. If they are still down and unable to move themselves then move them off the roadway. If they are already in a safe place, DO NOT MOVE THE INJURED PERSON. You only move an injured person if that person's life is in immediate danger. DO NOT REMOVE THEIR HELMET. You only remove the riders helmet in the event the rider is not breathing.

Above all, remain calm. Take a deep breath and force yourself to think clearly.

If they are up and walking, check their alert status. Just asking if they are alright is not a valid way to make sure someone isn't hurt. Adrenaline can do some really nasty things. Look in their eyes, have them pull the visor up and really look in the eyes. They tell a story. Violent eye movement, glassy look, blood shot eyes say that there is something wrong. Get them lying down and get the feet elevated. Shock can occur in any injured person. If the victim is chilled, breathing harshly, nauseous, clammy, and pale, it is possible he or she is in shock and might become unconscious at any time. Vomiting can also be a sign of shock, and you want to keep airways clear. Be prepared to keep the injured rider laying down and warm until help arrives. Coherent responses to any and all questions will also tell you if you are working with an injured person.

If the situation needs it, send a passerby for help, make the call, ask someone to ride for help. Do whatever is needed to get emergency help to a downed and injured rider.

These are the critical patient concerns in an injury accident:

   Is the person breathing? If not, you must clear the airway and start CPR.

   Is the person bleeding? Check for significant bleeding and deal with each one as you find them.

   Is the person burned? Treat the burn if you can and cover / protect any significant burns places.

   Does the person have any broken bones? Do your best to immobilize any broken bones.

Above all, remain calm. Take a deep breath and force yourself to think clearly.

Some rider down situations have non-life threatening circumstances. The time to asses the damage to the motorcycle is not in the middle of the road. Get the bike upright and, if you can, moved to a safe place off the roadway. Enlist help from your sweep riders if you need the extra muscle to move the motorcycle. Determine if and when it is safe enough to recall your people that you placed down the road. Continue to run your flashers until all of the riders are ready to move out in pursuit of the group.

Group Captain Steps In Order

Once notified of a situation, get the group off the highway and into a safe place. Make sure all riders know that you are in charge. Do not allow riders to go helter-skelter back down the highway looking for the accident. Assign one person to retrace the steps back to the incident and ask that they report back as soon as they can. It is critical that you maintain a calm demeanor during this period of time. Do not do anything until you are notified about what has occurred. Under no circumstances do you lead the entire group back to the place of the emergency. To many people running around can be just as dangerous as the accident itself.

Based on information you receive you need to ask the right questions;

Has a major injury occurred? If YES, has someone called for emergency vehicles? If the person reporting has no knowledge of a request for emergency vehicles, then you have to make the call right then. You have ascertained that a major injury accident has occurred, you need to get emergency crews moving to help.
Are there enough people at the site to aide in the emergency? If not, you pick those who you feel qualified to aide in this situation and send them along to the site. If you feel that you are more qualified than anyone else in the group to be at the scene, appoint a person at the present location to be in charge. Make sure the in-charge person understands that all of the riders that remain behind do not head for the accident site.

As this situation progresses, you may want to start making notes about the incident. You are the leader, and people will start asking questions. Note the time, weather and road conditions. Write down things that may have happened prior to the emergency and then after it has occurred. Once the situation comes under emergency personnel's control, the memory can play havoc with what you remember. How many hours had you been on the road? Where was your last stop? What, in your opinion could have contributed to this accident? Was the rider complaining about anything in particular? Was there something about his motorcycle that looked suspicious? Do you know if anyone else was having issues at the same spot?

The more you write down the better your recollection will be when the pointed question gets asked. Don't trust your memory. Trust what you write down because you are thinking clearly at that moment as to what was going on.

About the only thing I did not discuss is... waiting. Once you have the situation under control, waiting for emergency people to arrive can be the most stressful. What seems like hours can in fact, be minutes. Keep yourself calm and make sure the injured as also remain calm. Maintain control until medical personal arrive.

Epilog

The "rider down" scenario... It can happen. It happens suddenly. It requires quick and decisive action. Getting through the situation requires clear thinking and a thought out series of steps to insure that you and the rest of the group makes it thru safely.

In my "rider down" occurrence, I might have made some mistakes... But as I reread this and commit it to memory, I know that if the situation occurs again, I won't question if I made any mistakes or not.

For me, what does matter is that those people I ride with make it home safely.