When you’re involved in an accident, it’s only natural that you’d want paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to come running to you. However, you’d notice that whenever they arrive at the scene, they walk towards the injured parties. You won’t see them running at breakneck speed towards the wounded.
Before you judge, learn why they rarely run towards an accident. It will make more sense as you find out the reasons they do what they do.
They need to be safe
In an accident, the individuals capable of saving other people’s lives should be safe at all times to be able to perform their tasks. If a paramedic trips and breaks something, for instance, then there would be more injured people in the vicinity requiring medical assistance.
Running may prevent them from spotting danger
Also, if they run, they may not be able to spot the dangers that led to the accident in the first place. Perhaps the injured person ran into a flooded area with live wires floating on the water. If the EMTs run towards this area, they might not notice the exposed wires and electrocute themselves, as well.
So, their first job is to assess the safety level of the area where the injured party is at. In order to do that properly, they need to take their time and carefully check the area if it’s stable enough for them to enter and perform their tasks.
They need to stay calm
Paramedics and EMTs are supposed to stay calm so that they can take care of the wounded properly. Imagine if you’re a surgeon and prior to an operation, someone forced you to run a whole block in 30 seconds. By the time you reach the operating theatre, you’re panting and trying to catch your breath. It would then be difficult for you to operate on your patient.
These emergency responders operate on the same logic. They need to be as calm as possible because they might need to perform a delicate procedure to save the injured person’s life.
The injured party needs to stay calm
Individuals wearing first aid hi-vis vests are visible even from afar, so it’s highly likely that an injured person will see the responders right away. But, it’s important that when a wounded individual sees a paramedic or an EMT, they remain calm to prevent their condition from exacerbating.
They carry a lot of equipment
EMTs bring along lots of equipment that could break if they run all the time. These pieces of equipment are meant to save an injured person’s life, so these paramedics also need to be careful with them so that they’ll work properly.
You’re not the only injured person
Once paramedics bring you to the nearest hospital, they’re instantly out of the door and off to the next injured victim. If they run towards every accident, they increase the risk of getting injured, as well. And when that happens, they won’t be able to respond to another accident.
So, these are the reasons paramedics and EMTs don’t run towards injured individuals in an accident even if they’re in dire need of help.
