Critical Steps to Take After an ATV Accident with Ornge’s Critical Care Paramedic, Jonathan Lee
As the days get longer and the temperatures hotter, cottagers, outdoor enthusiasts and thrill seekers are increasingly eager to dust off their summer equipment for another season. Late May to September is dubbed “Trauma Season” in the medical field, the time of year when healthcare professionals see an increase in traumatic injuries. In the past few years, there has been an alarming trend in injuries among a particular summer activity: ATVs.
All-terrain vehicle related on-scene responses (where an air ambulance helicopter lands at the scene of a traumatic accident) completed by Ornge increased by nearly 30 per cent between 2022 and 2023, from 42 to 54 per year respectively. Despite a more urban landscape, cities south of Sudbury account for 90 per cent of ATV scene calls completed by Ornge in the past six years. The worrying trend has only continued so far in 2024.
While no rider starts their journey planning for an injury, no matter how safe you ride, there is always a chance for an accident. As a result, it is important to be prepared and take essential steps in the case of an accident. Jonathan Lee, a Critical Care Paramedic at Ornge, shares the most important steps to take after an ATV accident.
1. Assess injuries if possible
If you do find yourself the victim of an ATV accident, try your best to remain calm and take action to protect yourself until the paramedics arrive. If you are with someone who has been injured, keep the person from moving until you understand the extent of the injuries, then assess the ABCs – Airway, Breathing, and Circulation.
Airway: Clear anything in the mouth that prevents the patient from taking a deep breath. If they can speak in full sentences, the airway is usually clear.
Breathing: Look, listen, and feel for air. If they are not breathing, they need rescue breaths.
Circulation: If the patient is not breathing, and has no signs of life, you should start CPR. Find and control any gross bleeding.
If you are injured and are by yourself, you can still assess these things if your injury is not debilitating. Assess your own ability to take deep breaths, taking note of if your airway is clear. Notice your breathing and identify if there are any irregularities. Check yourself for blood or visible trauma.
2. Tend to injuries before the paramedics arrive
If you are bleeding, do your best to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound or making an improvised tourniquet if the wound is on a limb.
Finally, try to protect yourself from extremes of temperature. While overheating is possible in the summer, hypothermia can also be a risk to people who are wet or on the ground, in any season.
3. Preparing for transport
When calling emergency services, do not hang up on 911 (or the alternate emergency number/park ranger). Wait until they hang up first. This way, you can stay on the line with the operator and direct emergency services to your location without any interruptions.
“Making sure you have a way to get help, making sure somebody knows where you are and making sure you know where you are is important so that when you call for help, you can guide rescuers to where you are,” says Lee.
Perhaps the most important step is to know where you are and remain aware of your surroundings. A description such as “10 minutes north of Muskoka” is not an adequate marker for emergency services. Try your best to provide the most specific description of your location and surroundings possible such as GPS coordinates, trail markers, landmarks, knowing which trail you are on using the QuadON app, etc. Ensure that you are in a visible spot for emergency services when they arrive. Should an air ambulance helicopter be dispatched to your location, allow the paramedics to come to you. DO NOT approach the helicopter as it is extremely dangerous for yourself and the crew onboard.
4. Do not get into an ATV accident
The best action you can take is preventative action. Simple things like wearing a helmet, staying along designated paths, not riding impaired with drugs or alcohol, riding trails for your skill level and maintaining a safe and manageable speed.
“Injury prevention is much easier than treating an injury,” Lee says, “That should be the number one most important thing to remember when on an ATV.”
The reality is that most ATV accidents are preventable, and avoiding an accident altogether is the safest thing riders can do all year round.
