Nick completed the First Aid for Motorcyclists course at Williamstown over the weekend and what a fantastic initiative it is.
The crew at Maschine are passionate about riders learning first aid to help look after each other out on the trails. So often with adventure riding we disappear off into the bush or out into the desert where we can be hours from medical help, and often out of mobile phone reception, so it may come down to you being able to help your mate until paramedics a
We’ve done first aid courses before but none of them covered the specialists skills and unique difficulties involved in motorcycle accidents. If you’ve done a conventional first aid course you will know that they leave a massive knowledge gap when it comes to handling the aftermath of a serious motorcycle accident.
Skills covered in the course included:
– Managing an accident scene.
– Assessing whether you should remove a helmet or not.
– Safe removal of a helmet.
– Dealing with injuries under riding gear.
– CPR.
Our trainer Paul is a rider, as are all the First Aid for Motorcyclists instructors, and works in trauma at Alfred Hospital. His practical knowledge was priceless and helped answer some questions I’ve often had. The presentation included some pretty confronting images and even sound effects of accidents and injuries involving riders. So gruesome were some of these that one of our course attendees had to tune out at one point and put her fingers in her ears and head in her lap! But we think it this is an important inclusion in the training material because accident scenes can result in sensory overload and seeing some during the training can help you come to terms with it.
They also had some relevant items for sale such as motorcycle friendly first aid kits, ear plugs, shears that will cut through leather and textile riding gear etc. Nick grabbed a pair of the Alpine Ear Plugs to help look after this hearing.
Courses are run Australia wide and they are very affordable at just $85 for the 1/2 day course.
Make the effort to book yourself in and get trained up. You never know when you may need to put those skills into use and who you might be able to help.