Stay safe this winter

National Road Safety Week: Air Ambulance tips

This week (19^th – 25^th November) has been Road Safety Week. Since almost 50% of all of the incidents attended by our Air Ambulances are road accidents, and with winter fast approaching, we thought we’d share our tips on how you can stay safe on the roads this winter.

1)      It’s wheely important to check your tyre pressure and condition (and don’t forget the spare!)

2)      HALT! Test your brakes

3)      Let there be light – make sure you check your brake lights are working properly, as well as your headlights and your fog lights.

4)      Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink- Make sure your water levels are topped up and don’t forget some anti-freeze.

5)       Oil is like the blood of your car. If you don’t have any, you won’t be going anywhere. So check it.

Of course even if you do all of these, things can still go wrong. If you do break down or have an accident, you want to be prepared. So may we suggest you carry the following items with you at all times…

A hi-visibility jacket: Ok we know they’re not the best look. But if you’re standing on the side of the road it’s important that you can be seen.

A first aid kit: We don’t expect you to be as clinically advanced as our paramedics (who is?!) but first aid can be vital in helping to treat people before the emergency services arrive.

A torch: It’s dark. There are no street lights. The lights in your car have gone.  Even James Bond might get a little spooked. Plus – as with the jacket, you want to be seen!

And last but not least… ICE ICE BABY…

No we’re not talking about Jedward’s remix.

We’re talking about our In Case of Emergency cards.

If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident, it’s vital that our paramedics can contact your next of kin as soon as possible, and mobile phones cannot be relied on – the code on your phone to keep out nosey busy bodies will also keep out our paramedics! Plus phones can be easily broken, lose signal, or run out of battery.

Ok so now you want to know how you can go about getting one of our ICE cards. Well it’s simple, just go onto our website, fill in your details, and we’ll post one straight out to you.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tips, have a brilliant weekend, and most importantly of all, stay safe this winter.