If you were the first biker on the scene of an accident would you know what to do?
I regularly ride, either by myself or with others, both just days out or touring over a period of time. And I’ve tried to ensure I’m prepared for the worst having taken part in several BikerDown courses.
But you can never learn too much and I soon realised that FBOS is the natural step up for real world preparation. Fortunately my bosses, White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors agree, so they were happy to send me off to the day long course.
This course, run by Motorrad Tours Toursafe, is an accredited qualification that lasts two years and is worth every penny. It takes your learning to new levels because it focuses on incident management and then trauma management until the emergency services arrive to do their thing.
I attended the course, which was led by Chris Margetts from Motorrad TourSafe, at Shefford Fire Station. I felt very nervous prior to it as I felt my BikerDown skills were more than a little rusty. But two things became very clear. One – as the course progressed and they looked at areas which are similar, such as safe helmet removal and stopping catastrophic bleed, I realised I remembered more than I knew. And Two – this course was not about the medical care it was about trauma care. It was about focusing on managing the incident – understanding the scene so you could stop it escalating with further casualties, keeping all current casualties safe, informing authorities, gathering more info and then dealing with the trauma the injured parties have experienced, keeping them alive till the emergency services arrive.
Where the day really came into its own was in its interactive sessions. We learnt how to log roll patients safely such as if they were suddenly sick, understanding and determining the deterioration of a person from alert to unconscious, how and when to introduce CPR. (I for one never learnt the words to Nellie the Elephant as a child, and I’m pleased I don’t have to start now!)
As it’s held in a fire station, the team, which included Dan and Paul from Motorrad Toursafe, set up a road accident scene and then tested us on what we did as if we’d discovered it on a day’s ride out.
At the beginning of the day when faced with an emergency you realise just how things seem to be sped up, even including your ability to count breaths. By the time you make it to the afternoon’s testing scenario you feel so much more in control. Yes the adrenaline is still very much going but your common sense is shouting that you need to take the time to LOOK before leaping. Walk the scene, breathe, talk to yourself and that will all assist in making you far more useful to the casualties than rushing in like a knight in shining armour (or toughened leather and textiles!)
It’s also great with getting you to think and prep for after the incident when you and whomever you’re with are encouraged to record information so they don’t forget what they did should organisations like the police want to know. Also to decompress with a sit down and have a coffee and check in with each other, to think about bike recovery, and even whether you want to manage the rest of the ride or tour or make some changes.
Those who attended the course included my fellow biking friends from HBAM and members of the South Central region of the Evolution Women’s Motorcycle Club.
It was really clear, and good to see, just how important this course was to all of us. We’re in biking for the joy of it but each and everyone of us is realistic about the dangers of using roads whether here or abroad.
It was reassuring to know that if you book a tour with Motorrad TourSafe that each Tour Leader has been through the course and is thoroughly experienced. Having them teach you those same skills really adds to the wealth of knowledge you possess and personally I feel much calmer knowing rather than guessing what I would need to do should I be first on scene.
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