Rear-End Collision on the Sixth Ring Road
At 17:40 you are driving a 7.5-tonne box truck westbound on the Sixth Ring Road. Traffic slows suddenly; the car ahead brakes hard, and you stop about 1.5 m short. A small hatchback behind you does not stop and hits your rear underrun bar. You feel a jolt but no injury. The hatchback's driver, a man in his 30s, is slumped over the wheel, dazed, with blood running from a cut on his forehead. His passenger, a woman, is shouting that her chest hurts. Your truck is driveable; the car's front end is crushed and coolant is pooling on the road. Traffic is passing at 90 km/h in the two left lanes. You have a warning triangle, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and a phone. The police have not been called. The other driver says, 'Let's just exchange numbers and keep it off the record.'
1. What are your immediate priorities in the first two minutes, and what should you not do?
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First, secure the scene. Switch on hazard lights, keep your seatbelt on until you have checked the traffic, and place the warning triangle well behind the vehicles if it is safe to do so. Call 112 and state the location, direction, number of vehicles and that there are injured people. Do not stand between the vehicles or walk into the live lanes. Do not move the injured driver or passenger unless there is immediate danger such as fire or another impact; a chest injury and possible spinal injury make unnecessary movement risky. Do not leave the scene, do not admit fault, and do not agree to keep it off the record. Keep other people away from the wreckage and watch for leaking fuel or coolant.
2. How should you assess and assist the two casualties while waiting for emergency services?
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Approach from a safe side and identify yourself. Check the driver for responsiveness and normal breathing; if he is not breathing normally, start CPR and ask someone to fetch the first aid kit. If he is breathing, control the forehead bleeding with a clean dressing or pad and direct pressure, but do not press on a suspected skull fracture. Keep his head still and reassure him. Ask the passenger where the chest pain is, whether she can breathe, and whether she has other injuries; help her stay still and discourage her from twisting. Do not give food or drink. Monitor breathing and responsiveness until the ambulance arrives, and hand over what you saw and what you did. If the driver becomes unresponsive and stops breathing, begin CPR and use an AED if one is available.
3. Why is the 'off the record' suggestion unsafe and what documentation should you complete?
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Keeping it off the record is unsafe because there are injuries, a possible chest injury, and a road hazard from coolant. A private exchange of numbers may leave the casualties without proper medical assessment, and it may leave you without a police report for your insurer or company. It also creates scope for later disputes about fault, injury and damage. Complete the official process: call 112, ask for police and ambulance, exchange names, licence, registration, insurer and policy details, photograph the positions of the vehicles, the damage, the road layout and the coolant spill, and collect witness details. Notify your dispatcher and insurer promptly, complete the company incident report with times and facts, and record your own tachograph or logbook data. Do not sign a statement you cannot verify.