All drivers should undergo First Aid Training - Many lives will be saved.

In the previous entry, I argued that it should not only be a prerequisite for taxi drivers to undergo extensive training courses but all public transport drivers. After experiencing an accident in a bus and seeing a bus driver being helpless while we were waiting for an ambulance, I asked myself why can't it be a prerequisite for every driver to have first aid training. I then quickly went to the net and Googled "First Aid and drivers" in South Africa and alas, there were very few results on the topic, including an article about taxi marshals/drivers who took training back in 2008. This is what one of the drivers had to say;

“The skills I learned are invaluable and there is a definite need for more drivers to be trained in First Aid"

I agree. With ambulances response time (government ambulances) not up to scratch, the driver can make a difference to those who are injured while waiting for an ambulance. In fact, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is calling for countries to enforce first aid training as a pre-requisite for acquiring a driving license. A number of European countries such as Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina requires perspective drivers to hold a first aid certificate or must have completed some form of first aid training before a license is granted (Page 9). In Africa, Ghana is the first country to announce such a move with the aim of reducing deaths through accidents by equipping drivers with the basic first aid skills to enable them to attend to road accident victims.

With car ownership going to increase year after year, its makes sense to ensure that every driver has a know how of to save lives/reduce deaths. To conclude, the European Council said the following about first aid;

"Improving the effectiveness of that aid (first aid) is one of the factors which has helped to reduce the number of road deaths"

Photo Courtesy of ER24