Road Cycling - How safe are you?

I've read a lot of hard line replies regarding safety when it comes to helmets and listening devices. I figured a poll would be a good place to raise safety awareness.

...but the poll didn't take. :(

So, FREE FORM! your responses. :)

Do you know basic first aid?
Do you know how to treat for shock?
Do you know what AR is?
Do you know what CPR is?
Do you know how to check if either is needed?
Can you use a sweaty jersey to stop bleeding?
Do you know how to move an injured person?
Do your cycling buddies know first aid?

I'll stop there. But feel free to add you're own thoughts where raising safety awareness applies. Lots of material ...lots.

Safety first ;)

Helmet - definite yes. Hearing aid - yes, if you need to. Headphones - no, unless you're looking to be roadkill.

Helmet - definite yes. Hearing aid - yes, if you need to. Headphones - no, unless you're looking to be roadkill.

Check. I wear a helmet while cycling.
Check. Yup, I wear cic's cause I'm safety aware and partially deaf :D
Check. No headphones.

Happy?

T&C, I think a basic tenent of good safety is this:

If you're going to participate in dangerous activities, then knowing how to react with basic first aid when the situation is life or death would be a fundamental skill. Kinda like the fundamentals of cycling.

What do you know 'bout it?

I kinda figured this wouldn't go anywhere.

I think it demonstrates how willing we are to cast judgement and even insult our cycling brothers in an anonymous setting without much meat to back up such zealous remarks. Human nature at its best.

And, I better face the fact that very few here know squat about basic first aid. Lucky you that I do.

How safe? depends on what day. 70% of time I use a helmet, 100% time a sunglass stem mirror, usually take cd player with ear phones along, and other days no helmet, a head band and cd player and have fun in heavy downtown traffic. I never stop scanning the area Im in always looking for where the escape move can be. my life depends on it; so far so good, no matter how crazy.

How safe? depends on what day. 70% of time I use a helmet, 100% time a sunglass stem mirror, usually take cd player with ear phones along, and other days no helmet, a head band and cd player and have fun in heavy downtown traffic. I never stop scanning the area Im in always looking for where the escape move can be. my life depends on it; so far so good, no matter how crazy.

You're a brave man. Not for your style of riding though. More for the flames that'll singe you for posting this. :D

helmet - yes, always wear one.
cd-player/headphones - no way in hell. I have enough trouble staying on my bike already.

I don't know CPR or anything about how to treat a person in shock, but im going to take a class on that stuff this summer. With all the dangerous things we do my parents figure Im going to need it someday.

Do you know what AR is?

After Rebate. AC is After Coupon (see fatwallet.com).

"Can you use a sweaty jersey to stop bleeding?"

Sure

Do you know how to move an injured person?

Drag him behind the bicycle.

"Do your cycling buddies know first aid?"

Long as they don't try mouth to mouth with me.

cycling is not a fundamentally dangerous activity. read Forester....

Had many 1st aid courses over the years. Seen the changes in such things as CPR (used to be pull back, push down!) and tourniquets vs restricting bands.

Know CPR - certified several times, although current cert is expired, I still know. Know how and when to check.

Know enough NOT to move an injured person until qualified help arrives, unless in a desperate situation.

You can use just about anything, including a sweaty jersey, that gives pressure to stop bleeding, if the bleeding is life threatening.

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Mixed

Do you know basic first aid? YES
Do you know how to treat for shock? PARTLY
Do you know what AR is? YES
Do you know what CPR is? YES
Do you know how to check if either is needed? YES
Can you use a sweaty jersey to stop bleeding? YES
Do you know how to move an injured person? DEPENDS ON THE INJURY
Do your cycling buddies know first aid? AT LEAST THREE ARE PHYSICIANS

I'm a certified rescuer and I have a cell phone to call 911 if necessary. I figure I'm pretty safe. :)

Helmet-99% of the time.

Head phones- I don't wear them now, but I have in the past. When I have a strong head wind I don't think it would make any difference, because I can't hear anything coming from behind any way.

Flashers- I put them on if I am going out early or may be out late.

Mirror- I use one mounted to my helmet.

I know lots of basic first aid, but where does this leave the ones of us that ride 99% of the time solo? I am always on my own when riding, there are only 4 guys in the county that ride a road bike. :o

As The Torch says: Flame on!

Interesting how your self-righteous post is being shot down, eh TeleNick? Yes I know First Aid and CPR (was in the Army). I know that AR could be any of the following: "Accounts Receivable", the symbol for Argon, the abbreviation for Arkansas and, oh wait, "Assisted Respiration", your "oh-so-clever-they'll-never-get-this-and-I'll-show-them-their-ignorance" term for "mouth-to-mouth" (just because a person doesn't know that AR is an acronym for a technical term (among 100 other things) doesn't mean they don't know what mouth-to-mouth means and when to do it). I wouldn't even THINK of moving a body unless it was to get him/her out of immediate harm (i.e. unconscious and lying in the middle of the road), but if I needed to, yes, I know how. I also always carry a cell phone and know how to *gasp* dial 911. And yes, I can stop bleeding w/ a sweaty jersey, but why would I want to? Just get back on the bike and ride (home if it's bad). If it's a MAJOR gash, I'm gonna call 911 before I do anything because in the time it takes me to stop the bleeding with my jersey, I could possibly pass out and REALLY be in trouble. The only thing I was rusty on was treating shock, but when I reviewed it, I realized I hadn't forgotten anything.

I find it amusing that you seem to take offense at people pushing helmets so hard that you feel the need to show off your knowledge of other safety measures. At first I thought you might be in some kind of medical field and then I thought "No, anyone who worked in a field dealing with injuries would be overjoyed that people are pushing helmets while riding a bike. Not against it for some fool reason" I guess you're just a troll. Why don't you find something else to complain about. You look like a child complaining that people are pushing helmets w/o knowing 1st aid. At least they're pushing helmets! All your vaunted medical knowledge won't do you a damn thing if you're lying on the road looking at your brain...

/flameoff

Sorry Telenick, but the tone of your post REALLY set me off, esp your response to T&C... I know what you mean about safety awareness, but it sure feels like you're knocking on the people who are least smart enough to wear a helmet... If I've misunderstood, sorry

Hey Telenick, the "other" forum is a little freindlier, isn't it?

Do you know basic first aid?yes
Do you know how to treat for shock?Yes
Do you know what AR is?yes
Do you know what CPR is?yes
Do you know how to check if either is needed?yes
Can you use a sweaty jersey to stop bleeding?as a last resort yes I will use anything stop the bleeding
Do you know how to move an injured person?yes you don't unless you really really have to
Do your cycling buddies know first aid?i don't know

Helmet always
hearing aid- I am deaf in one ear so they don't work, lucky for me its the left I need to hear traffic
head phones-Never and if you chose to you better ride with someone who answered yes to all the above questions

Do you know basic first aid?
--Basic, for a ten-year-old

Do you know how to treat for shock?
--No

Do you know what AR is?
--Acoustic Research?

Do you know what CPR is?
--Yes but don't know how to do it

Do you know how to check if either is needed?
--Not a clue

Can you use a sweaty jersey to stop bleeding?
--I guess there'd be a risk of bacterial infection, unless
they were risking losing four pints of blood; pick one

Do you know how to move an injured person?
--I always heard don't do it, unless you know what their injuries are,
or if you know how - wait, that was the question - so, no

Do your cycling buddies know first aid?
--What cycling buddies?

Okay...I wear a helmet, I will not wear headphones, I don't take unnecessary
risks, I employ good lighting front and rear whenever prudent. That includes
rainy days and early morning haze/fog.
I suppose I should learn some Meds, but I'm rarely far from passersby, and
always have my driver's license in case I'm lying battered, bloody and unconscious,
dead, or otherwise unable to identify myself.