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Toyota (GB) will be supporting the British Red Cross in a partnership over a three year period to promote their 'Don't be a Bystander Campaign'. Launched today the campaign will be targeting parents and children to teach them about first aid and road safety.
  
The campaign aims to equip over 100,000 children of all ages and their parents with essential life-saving first aid skills and road safety knowledge with a series of 150 first aid sessions across the country. The campaign will take place at venues including shopping centres, theme parks, schools, town centres, beaches and parks. 
  
The campaign is aiming to tackle the findings by a UK wide survey conducted by the Children's Forum for Toyota and the British Red Cross. The results found that over half (60 per cent) of children who are currently most at risk from road traffic accidents (those aged 9-13) do not have enough knowledge of first aid to help themselves and others at the scene of a traffic accident. Over 1,800 children aged 9-13 are killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents every year and research shows that many children's lives could be saved if first aid was given at the scene before the arrival of the emergency services. 
  
Matt Harrison, Marketing Director for Toyota (GB) PLC said: "We are pleased to continue our support for the British Red Cross with this campaign to provide the training to help reduce injuries and save lives. As a major motor manufacturer Toyota bears particular responsibility towards road safety. This campaign also supports our vision which aims to reduce deaths caused by traffic accidents to zero."
  
Speaking about the campaign launch, Matt Overd, Head of First Aid Service Development at the British Red Cross said: "The British Red Cross has a unique contribution to make to road safety.
  
"Whilst we support accident prevention measures, we believe that the application of basic first aid at the scene of an accident can be life saving. This summer we want to encourage parents to make sure their children learn first aid and become aware of road safety by attending one of our free first aid sessions or logging on to our website to find out more."
  
Toyota is working continuously to improve the safety of its vehicles both passive and active. Passive safety is aimed at protecting drivers and passengers from injury. Front, side and curtain airbags have now been introduced across car ranges, along with pre-tensioners and force limiters. Toyota is not just reducing life-threatening injuries but also less severe injuries that can impair the quality of life. More advanced airbag systems, such as knee and chest/abdomen/waist airbags are being introduced. Indeed, Toyota was the first manufacturer to introduce knee airbags in a high volume model - the Avensis. 
  
Toyota is also aiming at the larger goal of preventing accidents from occurring in the first place (active safety). It believes active safety measures have played and will continue to play an increasingly important role. Technologies such as ABS, Traction Control, Brake Assist and Vehicle Stability Control (known as VSC) have made it possible to use electronic systems to assist drivers in manoeuvring through many kinds of road conditions and situations. The development of new technologies such as Toyota's Pre-crash technology and VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) will greatly contribute to saving many lives, and that reason alone makes the investment worthwhile. Further information on Toyota and the Red Cross free first aid sessions can be found on www.toyota.co.uk/redcross  and www.redcross.org.uk/firstaid 

Source: Toyota (GB) Plc

 DSA Comments   Whichever country you live in, there is much that can be done to protect the life of people injured in road crashes but gaining some prior knowledge of first aid and adherence to the basic guidelines shown below is vital if this is to be done. 

     The first paramount, vital, essential, over-riding rule is protect the scene. Yes, I know we've over-done the adjectives but it is impossible to stress this aspect too much. 

     If possible, send two mature, sensible individuals at least 300 feet either side of the incident so that they can signal to traffic to slow down. If possible, these people should be wearing or waving something brightly colored, and at night they should be using a flashlight.

     If flares or cones are to be used, they too should be placed well in advance of the crash scene, not just a few feet away. (If a car is approaching you at say 70mph, it will take at least 315 feet to stop in an emergency -- that's the length of a football field -- and it will take much further if the road is wet or slippery. If it's a large truck those distances will increase even more, so bear this in mind when protecting the scene.)

     Secondly, protect yourself. Buy a highly-reflective safety jacket or vest, that you can slip over the top of your ordinary clothing  -- even bulky winter clothing. Lime yellow is undoubtedly the best for daytime and night-time use. In some countries it is now the law that drivers must carry such jackets and wear them at crash scenes or if their car breaks down, et., and this is an excellent, life-saving idea.

     The third rule is that unless you absolutely have to -- because the vehicle is on fire or because you are unable to get approaching traffic to slow down and you think another collision is likely -- do NOT take badly injured people out of the vehicle they are in!  If they have head, spinal or serious internal injuries, being moved by non-experts could paralyze them for life or actually kill them. Your job under such circumstances is to stabilize their predicament as much as possible until paramedics arrive.

     Next -- even though I am a former traffic patrol police officer and I've had to give some fairly involved first aid to many seriously injured crash victims -- I do not profess to be any sort of expert on the issue, so I'm going to give you the basic rules as I was taught them. I know for a fact that the wording has now changed, but the principle is effectively identical, so:  To get your priorities right remember the 3 B's -- Breathing, Bleeding, and Bones..... in that order.

     It is obviously pointless to stop any bleeding if the person has also stopped breathing. Helping somebody maintain their airway or -- if necessary -- giving resuscitation, possibly also with cardiac compression or defibrillation, is clearly the first priority.

     Similarly, it would be silly to be busy splinting a broken leg if the person is in the process of bleeding to death while you are doing it. Therefore stemming any heavy bleeding is the second priority. If a heavily bleeding wound is literally a gaping hole, get somebody to give you their shirt -- obviously the cleaner and less linty the better -- bundle it up and carefully insert it into the wound then hold it in place with a degree of pressure (remembering that you may be pressing it down on something vital).

     If you are obliged to use a tourniquet, due perhaps to a victim having a nearly-severed limb, make a careful note of the time the tourniquet was applied. That time will be vital to the paramedics if the limb is to be saved.

     Conscious victims should NOT be allowed anything to eat or drink -- not even a little water -- even if they plead for it. This is hard rule to follow, but if that person needs emergency surgery it can be made more dangerous by increased stomach contents.

     Finally, as soon as you possibly can, get into a position where you can disregard these brief notes. Get proper first aid training so that you can help if you arrive at the scene of an accident or -- God forbid -- if somebody in your own family is badly hurt.

     First aid training is never something to be coy or squeamish about. If you feel unsure about doing it, ask yourself:  "What if it was the other way round? What if it were YOU that was hurt and the only thing that could save you was whether the people who found you had done the training.

Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc.