Mandatory First Aid for new drivers

[Mark James]

In the UK we have heard so much about the “education” of young drivers as to the dangers of driving. Why are we doing it after the event I say. I think that mandatory first aid courses are run as part of the driving test as it is in most of Europe. There is a petition on the government website at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/driversfirstaid for people to sign and if you’ve ever seen or been in an accident how many times has it taken ages for even basic first aid to arrive.

I don’t normally pass these kind of things on but just take a minute to think about it.

[Keith Whittaker]

It's not actually applicable but personally, I believe that first aid should be a mandatory school subject.

[paramedic paul]

IMHO First Aid courses should be mandatory for everyone! I appreciate the logistics of such an idea render it nearly impossible however.

The amount of jobs that me and my colleagues turn up to where the outcome could be improved with just a small amount of basic knowledge is quite large.

Having said that, the number of jobs we get called to would be sizeably reduced if people had a basic knowledge of first aid! I.E people wouldn't call us for simple cuts and bruises etc!

[abucksdiver]

Funny, I had a similar discussion with my daughter earlier this week, she was with my son when he feinted and bashed his head on a concrete floor on Sunday, and, although she did everything right, she was upset because she didn't know what she should have done!

I think children should have at least three sets of First aid training through their school life... once at about 6-7, again at about 11-12 and then at 15-16. (Obviously, the level of detail wouldn't be the same, but by 16, they should be to full HSE FAAW standard)

Making it compulsorary for a driving test is another good idea.

Andrew

[applepie]

good idea IMHO,

sadly having to do regular refresher courses to keep current, they seem to change things very 6months as well to confuse people.

true you gotta keep the basic skills sharp.

plus i remember liability was a huge issue which was quite amusing on my part when i did all the training. protect yourself first from legal action....

i had to give random person CPR once (heart attack) and i didnt enjoy the experience, sh*tting myself every sec thinking am i doing it correctly? etc, until security and paramedic arrived to take over. very traumatic for me i thought and to be honest, i would probably hesitate now and hope someone else steps in.

[hyweldavies]

but why driving in particular ?

Why not pick another random group? Perhaps compulsory first aid for anyone who applies for a passport, or for planning-permission?

Not to say first aid training isn't a "good thing", but it isn't central to being able to drive safely. What about a very thick person, or even a "backward" person, who might be able to learn to dive, but couldn't grasp the academic part of even a simple first aid course?

As it happens I have a (basic) first aid qualification.

Hywel

[dry suit diver]

Originally Posted by applepie

good idea IMHO,

sadly having to do regular refresher courses to keep current, they seem to change things very 6months as well to confuse people.

true you gotta keep the basic skills sharp.

plus i remember liability was a huge issue which was quite amusing on my part when i did all the training. protect yourself first from legal action....

i had to give random person CPR once (heart attack) and i didnt enjoy the experience, sh*tting myself every sec thinking am i doing it correctly? etc, until security and paramedic arrived to take over. very traumatic for me i thought and to be honest, i would probably hesitate now and hope someone else steps in.

thats bollox, the first thing they tell you on the course is not to worry about litigation as if you do things as trained there will be no case to answer.
the instructor cleearly stated that nobody in the UK has ever been sued succesfully for the administering of first aid if they are a trained first aider.

with CPR even if you do it wrong you cannot make things any worse as if you need to do CPR they are already dead ( heart stopped- not breathing).

and yes I think it should become part of school education but not as early as 6-7 it should start in secondary school at about 13-14.


Like with diving instructors if you get a good one you can gain far more knowledge than the basic syllabus teaches, the one that trained me for the 4 day 1st aid showed different ways of bandaging all types of cuts , better ways of putting people into recovery position, ways of putting slings on that require no safety pins etc etc etc.

[abucksdiver]

Originally Posted by dry suit diver

and yes I think it should become part of school education but not as early as 6-7 it should start in secondary school at about 13-14.

Sorry, I disagree... my son (age 7) has been taught very basic first aid in his Beaver-Scout pack... and it has helped him know what to do on the times he has fallen over and ripped all the skin off his knees.

I think that at the 7/8 year age, they can probably be taught a suitable amount in 1-2 hours. At 11/12 years, they could probably handle the equivalent of a one-day basic course, and at 15/16, they should be doing the whole FAAW-equivalent course....

Regards
Andrew

[uwila]

Originally Posted by hyweldavies

but why driving in particular ?

Why not pick another random group?

because it's not a random group. There are many minor accidents when driving for which a little first aid knowledge would make a big difference to the severity of the outcome. As far as I know, there have not been so many accidents whilst applying for a passport.

In a similar vein, I think this and O2 admin should become part of every agency's basic o/w training. No first aid, no C card.

Cheers, Chris

[David]

Originally Posted by hyweldavies

but why driving in particular ?

Why not pick another random group?l

he did just answer the op question but his reply did seem a bit odd. :-)

an age scale would be less random :-)