Going Alone - Single Vehicle Wheeling & Safety

This (bolded), is all I'm really saying. We don't disagree there.

I think you're just focusing on two or three words out of my entire post, and essentially ignoring the rest of it, which was to say that everyone should take an actual class on the subject to be properly prepared.

<2 minute internet videos are a fine first step, but you (not "you" Chase, but others) really should consider taking an actual class that gives you practical experience with expert supervision on how and when to apply them, and lots and lots of practice. I personally find it interesting that you are telling people using a 1 minute video and 3 lines of an internet forum post what to do that's taken you 15 years of military training/experience to learn. Yes, to an experienced medic, they are easy, reliable, and make sense, I never said anything to the contrary.

But without proper training, you wouldn't necessarily know that direct pressure is almost always effective IF done properly (i.e. correct pressure, location, and time). So someone gets all internet smart and figures if putting their hand on a wound doesn't stop the bleeding in 30 seconds, they need a tourniquet, then they go and put a tourniquet on (incorrectly).

I'm of the mindset that videos, while they expose you to what's out there, don't actually train you very well, especially in an emergency situation where you tend to forget half the crap you learned anyway. There is NO replacement for in person practical experience.

You're right in one respect, however. Don't listen to me. But IMO they shouldn't necessarily listen to you either. Take a class.

 

Sub'd

 

You're not picking up what I'm putting down.

When a person with no knowledge on this subject reads your posts, they are going to think "Tourniquets are dangerous", "I need formal training before I should carry them", or "I need to be an experienced medic" - which is just dead wrong.

Take a vehicle roll over in the middle of nowhere where the passenger's arm flings out of the window and is partially severed by the cab as an example. That's a realistic scenario for our population here. My "untrained person with a TQ" is going to apply a purpose built TQ to the best of their ability - which is not rocket science. Even if they have a mediocre application, it's still likely to be an effective control measure for the uncontrolled bleeding. What is your "untrained person without a TQ" going to do?

My reference to 15 years is not how long I took to understand TQ application, that's how long we've been at war as a nation. GWOT is the first major conflict the US military has fought in which we wide spread issued and encouraged the use of purpose built TQs. The survival rates for extremity wounds have drastically improved as a result.

 

you are picking up things I never put down, because I never said you shouldn't ever apply a tq, merely to use caution. You are free to to give out medical advice over the internet, I am merely suggsting people take a class. I am also not saying you are wrong, I do not doubt your experience or service.

I don't want people to take my word for it, I want them to take a class. Simple as that.

Good day, and thank you for your service. Stay safe.

 

I haven't seen this mentioned so I'm going to mention it now. I've found one of the single most important things you can carry for emergencies is a couple hundred dollars in cash and a credit card with no balance.

When trying to source help, parts or a tow the last thing you need to worry about is getting ahold of the funds to do so.

 

Oath. Tore up my main wiring harness on a wheeling trip that ended up with me being stranded 400 miles from home. AAA got me halfway back and from there I was on my own. Found a tow for the rest of the way and the driver was startled to have me hand him $800 in cash.

We keep an AAA premier or platinum - they change the name back and forth - card current as you get allot of great benefits out of it. If they can't tow you within a reasonable time they will reimburse the cost of a hotel room.

 

Good call. I need to add AAA. I have roadside through my insurance and through Verison(Oddly enough it's really good and cheap, I thinks it's $5/month, I've used it twice) but a well known company like AAA would be nice. Hell if one cant tow me the whole way, drop the truck and I'll call the next

 

Good call. I keep forgetting I let my AAA lapse like 2 years ago. Was a member for the better part of the last decade and used the tow once lol. Finally just let it lapse and I keep meaning to renew.

Also agreed on the money. When I leave town or go on an offroad trip I always keep a couple hundo's on me just in case I need them.

 

nice write up and tips. Thanks

 

Thanks for this. For now, I'll be limited to single vehicle trips. I'll just have to take it conservatively and follow your tips.

I don't want to beat the tourniquet thing to death but an important thing to know is to avoid Amazon and Ebay when buying the CAT or SOF-T tourniquet. The Milsim/airsoft crowd has created a market for fake medical supplies that are sometimes sold on those two sites. They look enough like the real thing that it can be hard to tell the difference. Stick with established medical supply companies when buying for an aid kit. I've used http://www.chinookmed.com/ in the past. They have a good selection and the prices aren't to unreasonable. Surplus stores outside military bases can be an ok source, just inspect the packaging, I bought a couple Israeli bandages about a year ago and one of them ended up having some blood on the package. I was less than pleased.

Avoid quick clot powder unless you have been trained in its use. We don't issue it anymore, and I won't carry it. From what I was told is that there were issues with the powder blowing into peoples eyes. It clots when it touches a liquid. It has been replaced by the Chitosan bandage. Seek training in their use before bothering to carry them.

I took the WEMT course from Wilderness Medical Associates a few years back. Excellent instructors. They make good use of scenarios to reinforce the classroom instruction.
https://www.wildmed.com/

 

bravo, sir!

 

Great read, thank you

 

Where does AAA draw the line when it comes to off-road recoveries ? I haven't researched the subject yet but have been meaning to.. I'm not so much speaking of being stuck in mud/sand/snow as I am Broken spindle / cv / or other major failure where there is no self recovery option.

Are there certain roads / terrain they will not traverse? Is it measured by how far from pavement like somewhere I read? Does it come down to the individual who is taking the call ( I know they contract the work out sometimes) ?

 

I don't know about AAA, but I have had issues trying to get tow companies to come out and grab a broke down pickup on well maintained gravel roads. These are roads that are maintained for highway log trucks and lowboys. I called four companies around the area and all said they didn't do "off road recovery", this was after I explained to them that it was just a gravel road. We finally find a tow company that would come and get the truck, but it took awhile to find it.

 

AAA will try to dispatch a tow truck but the contracted operator may decline the call. In one case I had to get a buddy to tow my truck about five miles up a washboard gravel road to meet the tow because the driver refused to get any closer. That was just with bad washboards with no other hazards. Thankfully my buddy was already on scene to recover my boat and trailer.

 

Read the contract and no off-road recoveries. Said nothing about gravel roads but as mentioned by others, the contractor could claim it is off-road and refuse.

 

A lot depends on the individual tow truck driver. Some will fudge the "no offroad" thing a bit at their own risk, some won't leave pavement.

Remember that they are in heavy truck on highway tires that may or may not be 4wd.

Definitely don't count on it.

 

awsome.thanks.subbed

 

One additional thing to consider is that in cold conditions synthetic line will freeze on your winch. My buddy learned this the hard way last week. It was something I really hadn't thought of. It's a good idea to carry some de-icer when out in freezing temps.