Head Trainer at driver training company XDrive, Stephen Haughey explains the importance of having a first aid kit in the vehicle whilst travelling.
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I was recently asked by a client to undertake an inspection of their fleet, which comprised a mixture of light and heavy commercial vehicles as well as sedans and some items of plant.
Whilst I was undertaking the inspection, I was satisfied with the level of maintenance of the items, including the general cleanliness of the equipment, vehicles and the workshop. This showed that the operators as well as the fleet manager was up to date with his maintenance regime and that he had instilled a certain pride in his fleet which was transferred to the operators.
However, one item was lacking from my initial inspection.
I was surprised to note that whilst there were (in general) a first aid kit and fire extinguisher in all the plant items, as well as the heavy vehicles, there was a distinct lack of these same items in the light commercial vehicles and in the sedans.
When I pointed this out to the fleet manager, he was rather perplexed. His first comment was, “I have them in all the maintenance vehicles”. This statement was in fact correct, he had a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher in a number of light commercial vehicles that would be travelling to various sites.
I recounted a story to him, of how one day I was travelling down the freeway and in the distance I could see a plume of black oily smoke rising up towards the sky. As I drew closer, I noted that there was a vehicle parked on the side of the road, burnt beyond recognition. The only thing remaining was the burnt out body of the vehicle which resembled an ‘up-market’ sedan and a rather large patch of melted bitumen.
I stopped to offer some assistance as I knew that I had a comprehensive first aid kit and fire extinguiser in my vehicle.
The gentleman whose car had just burned to the ground was standing a short distance away cradling his arms. He had tried in vain to extinguish the flames, when he had first noticed them and unfortunately because he did not have a fire extinguisher, he watched the flames grow and grow until his whole car was engulfed. I noticed that he had some rather severe burns to his hands and arms and so I proceeded to treat and bandage these wounds using the items I had in my first aid kit.
I met this same gentleman some months later and although he still had some scarring to show for his efforts, he did have a new vehicle as well. I looked inside to compliment him on his new car and there in the passenger footwell was a new fire extinguisher correctly mounted in a cradle and easily accessible.
I mentioned that I saw he had mounted a fire extinguisher in this vehicle and he then proceeded to take me to the rear of the vehicle, where he popped the boot and sitting there was a new first aid kit.
He informed me that he was never going to be caught out again by not having some ‘basic equipment’ in his vehicle, which had cost him less than the price of one tyre.
Make sure that you carry a comprehensive First Aid Kit and Fire Extinguisher in your vehicle at all times. It may save your life.
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