First aid and emergency response
Domain 8 tests what you do in the first minutes after a crash, when your actions matter more than your riding. The exam expects a fixed order: protect the scene, alert help, then treat.
Sequence at a crash
- Stop and protect: hazard lights, warning triangle, get others to slow down. Do not create a second crash.
- Call 112. Give the exact location, the number of injured, what happened and any hazards - fire, fuel, live traffic. Stay on the line until told otherwise.
- Check response and breathing: airway, breathing, circulation.
Helmet and casualty handling
- Leave the helmet on. Remove it only if the airway is blocked or you must start resuscitation, and then with two people supporting the head and neck.
- Do not move an injured rider unless there is fire or traffic danger.
- Unconscious but breathing: recovery position, and monitor breathing continuously.
- Not breathing: start CPR, 30 compressions to 2 breaths, 100-120 per minute, about 5-6 cm deep, and send someone for an AED.
Bleeding, shock and cold
Press firmly on a bleeding wound with a clean dressing. For severe limb bleeding use a tourniquet if you have one, and note the time. Keep the casualty warm, loosen tight clothing, and give no food or drink. Injured riders lose heat fast, even in summer.
Worked example
You arrive at a single-bike crash. The rider is unconscious but breathing, lying on the road with the helmet on. Correct action: protect the scene, call 112, leave the helmet in place, support the head, place the rider in the recovery position while keeping the neck aligned, then monitor breathing until the ambulance arrives. Removing the helmet "so he can breathe better" risks turning a spinal injury into a permanent one.
Traps
Wrenching the helmet off reflexively. Giving an injured person water. Moving a casualty to "make them comfortable". Leaving the scene to find help instead of calling 112. Forgetting to protect the scene, so the ambulance arrives to two casualties.