Collision with a motorcyclist on a rural road
On a dry rural road outside a village you are the first to arrive at a collision. A motorcyclist in leathers is lying on the road, conscious but confused, complaining of neck pain and tingling in the fingers. The motorcycle is on its side with the engine still running and a small amount of fuel has spilled. The rider's helmet is still on and appears undamaged. A passenger car has stopped 30 m further on with a dented front wing; its driver is standing beside it, shaken but uninjured. Traffic is approaching from both directions at about 80 km/h. You have a first-aid kit, a warning triangle and a reflective vest in your car. There is no mobile signal at this spot.
1. List your actions in priority order for the first two minutes.
Read the worked answer
- Protect the scene: stop your car before the site with hazard lights on, put on the reflective vest, and place the warning triangle at a distance that gives approaching traffic time to react - further than usual because approach speeds are around 80 km/h. Switch off the motorcycle's engine and, if safe, move the ignition key away, but do not move the machine if fuel is pooling near a hot exhaust.
- Do not remove the helmet. With neck pain and tingling in the fingers, a spinal injury is possible; the helmet supports the head and removing it can worsen the injury. Keep the rider still, kneel behind the head and hold it in line with the spine.
- Call for help - use another bystander to flag down a car and ask them to call the emergency number from a place with signal, giving location, number of casualties and the suspected spinal injury.
- Keep the rider warm with a blanket or jacket, talk calmly, monitor breathing and consciousness, and do not give food or drink.
2. The car driver wants to move their vehicle and the motorcyclist asks to sit up. How do you respond?
Read the worked answer
Both requests should be declined for now. The car should stay where it is until the scene is secured and, where the law requires it, until the police have been informed; moving it can destroy evidence of the impact position and speeds, which matters in a collision with injury. If it must be moved to prevent a secondary collision, note the positions first. The rider must not sit up: neck pain with tingling suggests possible spinal injury, and sitting up flexes the spine and can convert a stable injury into a cord injury. Explain calmly why you are keeping them still, keep the head supported, and reassure them that help is coming. Ask the car driver to keep away from moving traffic, to stay at the scene, and to note anything they remember about the moments before impact.
3. Fuel has spilled near the motorcycle. What is the risk and what do you do about it?
Read the worked answer
Petrol vapour is heavier than air, spreads along the ground and ignites easily; the motorcycle's hot exhaust and any spark are ignition sources. Do not start or rev any engine near the spill, do not smoke, and keep bystanders back. Do not use water to wash it away - that spreads the fuel. If it is safe and the machine is not needed as evidence, absorb small spills with earth, sand or a rag, and keep the area ventilated. Warn approaching traffic with the triangle and hazard lights, and tell the emergency services about the spill when you call so they approach with the right precautions. If the spill is large or reaches a drain, move everyone upwind and further back.