Emergency Procedures, First Aid and Incident Response
What this domain tests
What you actually do in the first five minutes: securing the scene, calling for help, and giving basic first aid without making injuries worse. Examiners look for a sequence, not heroics.
Scene first
- Stop safely, switch off the engine, hazards on, handbrake on.
- Place a warning triangle at least 45 m behind the vehicle on a fast road, closer in town, and get passengers behind a barrier or well off the carriageway.
- Call the emergency services on 999 or 112 with a precise location, number of casualties and any fire or fuel spill.
- Do not move casualties unless there is fire, fuel or traffic danger. Do not remove a motorcyclist's helmet.
First aid sequence - DR ABC
- Danger: protect yourself, use gloves or a barrier.
- Response: talk and gently shake.
- Airway: open it, clear visible obstructions.
- Breathing: look, listen, feel. If not breathing, start chest compressions at 100–120 per minute. If breathing but unconscious, place in the recovery position.
- Circulation: control bleeding with firm direct pressure and a dressing; keep the casualty warm; nothing by mouth.
Vehicle fire
Evacuate upwind, use the dry-powder extinguisher on a small fire only, never open the bonnet fully, and withdraw if the fire reaches the fuel system or cab.
Worked example
You arrive at a crash where a passenger is unconscious but breathing. You do not sit them upright or give water. You check the airway, confirm breathing, place them in the recovery position on their side, control a scalp bleed with direct pressure and keep them warm until help arrives.
Traps that cost marks
Giving an injured person food or drink, moving a casualty with a suspected spinal injury, and leaving the scene before police arrive.