01What is the first thing to do at a crash?
Make the scene safe before you touch anyone — traffic stopped or warned, engines off, no smoking, nobody standing in the road. A second crash on top of the first helps no one.
Knowledge base · First aid on the road
हिन्दी में पढ़ेंKnowledge base
First aid on the road
First aid is not medicine. It is the short list of things a bystander can do that make a difference before an ambulance arrives — and the shorter list of things that make it worse. Nothing here replaces a hands-on class with an instructor.
Taught on: HAZMAT Safety — 3 days02Which numbers should be called?
112 reaches every emergency service; 108 is the ambulance in most States. Give the road and the nearest landmark first, then how many are hurt.
- Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — emergency medical services
03Is a bystander protected if they help?
Yes. A good samaritan who takes an injured person to hospital cannot be harassed for it, and cannot be compelled to disclose personal details. This was put into the law in 2019.
- Source: Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
04Should an injured person be moved?
Only if leaving them is more dangerous than moving them — fire, fuel spill, oncoming traffic. Otherwise support the head and neck and wait. Spinal injuries are made permanent by being moved badly.
05How do you stop heavy bleeding?
Raise and support the injured limb, cover the wound with sterile gauze, and apply direct pressure to control the bleeding. If the dressing soaks through, add another on top rather than lifting the first.
- Source: Training Manual for Drivers, Transport Department, Government of West Bengal, with IIT Kharagpur (2017)
06What is done for an unconscious person who is breathing?
Turn them on their side so the airway stays clear, check that breathing continues, and stay with them until help arrives.
07What if they are not breathing?
Chest compressions — the heel of the hand in the centre of the chest, hard and fast, about twice a second, without stopping until help takes over. This is the one skill worth learning properly on a manikin.
- Source: Training Manual for Drivers, Transport Department, Government of West Bengal, with IIT Kharagpur (2017)
- Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — emergency medical services
08How is a burn treated at the roadside?
Remove anything constricting, then cool under running water for at least ten to fifteen minutes and cover with a dry sterile dressing. Do not lift anything stuck to the burn, do not apply any lotion or ointment, do not break blisters, and do not cool the person so far that they start shivering.
- Source: Training Manual for Drivers, Transport Department, Government of West Bengal, with IIT Kharagpur (2017)
09What if a chemical gets on the skin or in the eyes?
Flood with clean water for at least twenty minutes, removing contaminated clothing as you go, and take the TREM card with the casualty to hospital — it tells the doctor what the substance was.
- Source: National Disaster Management Authority — chemical (industrial) disasters
10What should a first aid kit on a vehicle contain?
Sterile dressings and bandages in more than one size, antiseptic, adhesive tape, gloves, scissors, and clean water. Check it after every use, not once a year.
- Source: Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 — Rule 138
11What should you not do?
Do not give water or food to an unconscious or badly injured person, do not remove a helmet unless breathing is obstructed, do not crowd the casualty, and do not remove anything embedded in a wound.
This page is written for guidance. Where money, a licence or somebody's safety turns on it, read the rule itself — every answer says which one. Disclaimer and sources.
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