- Do commercial and public transport drivers need first aid training?
- The first link in the chain of help
- The role of lay bystanders
Would first aid training for the general public help?
The Word Health Organization holds the view that training of specially selected community volunteers and other lay professionals could be valuable. However, there is no strong evidence that basic first aid training by drivers and members of the public would decrease pre-hospital mortality. There is, also, concern that unless there is in-depth knowledge of basic life support techniques, more harm might be done than good. At the same time, the level of cost to provide the necessary in-depth training supplemented with regular refresher courses for all road users would need to be balanced by evidence of substantial benefit. There is no evidence that provision of first aid kits in cars would help [7] . For EU countries, EC Directive 2000/56 provides for Member States to take measures to ensure that:
- Applicants for driving licences know how to behave in the event of a crash
- They can assess road crash victims including emergency action such as evacuation of passengers and basic knowledge of first aid.