The minutes right after a road accident are chaotic, but a calm bystander can genuinely improve the outcome for someone injured — without needing any medical training. Here's a simple, safe sequence to follow while professional help is on the way.
Before helping anyone else, check that you're not standing in oncoming traffic. If you're in a vehicle involved in the accident, turn on hazard lights. If it's safe to do so, place a warning triangle or any visible object a safe distance behind the vehicles to alert oncoming traffic.
Call for help before doing anything else with the injured person. Give the exact location — a nearby landmark, signal, or milestone works better than a vague area name in Navi Mumbai's stretches of highway and service roads. Describe how many people are injured and whether anyone is unconscious or bleeding heavily.
Unless there's a fire, oncoming traffic, or another immediate threat, avoid moving someone who has been in a road accident — a spinal injury can be worsened by unnecessary movement. It's usually safer to keep the person still and protect the area around them until paramedics arrive.
Speak to the person and see if they respond. Check if they're breathing normally. If they're unconscious but breathing, avoid moving them unnecessarily; if you are trained and they are not breathing normally, follow CPR steps as you would in any emergency, and stay on the phone with the ambulance dispatcher for guidance if needed.
For visible bleeding, use a clean cloth and apply firm, steady pressure directly on the wound until paramedics arrive. Avoid removing an object that may be embedded in a wound — stabilise around it instead.
Reassure the person, keep them still, and if it's cold or they're in shock, cover them with a blanket or jacket. Avoid giving them food or water.
If others are around, ask someone to note the time of the accident, number of people involved, and anything the injured person says about pain or symptoms — this context helps the ambulance crew triage faster on arrival.
If possible, have someone stand at the nearest visible point — a junction, gate, or main road — to flag down and guide the ambulance, especially if the accident location is inside a colony, service lane, or hard-to-spot stretch.
In a road accident emergency in Navi Mumbai, every second of dispatch time matters — book or call for the nearest available ambulance immediately.
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