The Automobile Association of Upper India (AAUI), together with International de l’ Automobile (FIA) and International Road Federation, has been organising First Responder Trauma Care Course for all commercial drivers in the national capital since December last year, in a bid to make Indian roads safer.
The one-day First Responder Trauma Care Course imparts knowledge and techniques to commercial drivers on dealing with accident victims. The course teaches drivers on minimising the delay in transferring accident victims to a nearby hospital or trauma centre by teaching them the proper methods of handling accident victims so that they do not suffocate or lose their pulse on their way to the hospital. The training for drivers is being imparted at the AAUI’s school in the Qutab Institutional area here.
The course also teaches drivers to assess whether the victim is alive and the nature of injury, to help the victim keep breathing. Special training is also given to teach them about rescue positions and special consideration, after the successful completion of the course. After an assessment, the drivers are given a certificate of completion.
The First Responder Trauma Care Course has already trained 3,295 commercial drivers free of cost in Delhi itself and is expected to train more drivers from across North India till 30 November this year.
T.K Malhotra, AAUI president, told The Sunday Guardian, “Many road accident victims die of premature death as those who want to help do not possess the right skills to help victims in their hour of need. Thus, going beyond conventional first aid knowledge, the training prepares drivers to identify injuries that they may encounter and respond to.”
He added that such training does not need any high-tech medical appliances, but common household items like pieces of wood, bed sheets and blankets.