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    By situation ยท 11 tips

    Car accident

    First aid at the scene and what to photograph, what to keep afterward, and how to avoid the next crash.

    1 At the scene

    Emergencies: what to do first

    For heavy bleeding, first press hard on the wound with your hand; if you can't stop it on a limb, put on a tourniquet; and call 120 (China's ambulance number) at the same time

    First press hard with your hand or clothing. If you can't stop the bleeding on a limb, put on a tourniquet, then call 120 (China's ambulance number), and once it is on, don't loosen it. Among wounded soldiers, nine in ten lived when the tourniquet went on before shock, and only one in ten when it went on after shock; all 5 who needed one and didn't get it died. Put it on above the wound, twist until the bleeding stops, and note the time. Don't use shoelaces or rope instead. On the neck and the trunk you can only press, not tie.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If someone collapses, doesn't respond to your calling and isn't breathing normally, press hard on the chest right away, and have a bystander call 120 (China's ambulance number) and find an AED

    Cardiac arrest often happens at home, and when someone presses on the chest in time, a higher share of people leave the hospital alive. If the person doesn't respond when you call and isn't breathing normally, start pressing; an occasional gasp does not count as normal breathing. Put your hands one on top of the other and press hard on the chest, and have a bystander call 120 (China's ambulance number) and find an AED (automated external defibrillator).

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If you suspect a fracture, stop moving that part, support it still, use a cold pack for no more than 20 minutes, and don't try to straighten it yourself

    Treat any injury to a hand or foot as a fracture first; being able to stand and move does not rule it out. Keep the injured part still, hold it in place by hand or support it in place with a stiff board, and use a cold pack for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Don't try to straighten it yourself, and if bone has pushed through the skin, stop the bleeding first and don't push it back. An X-ray can miss a fracture. If the film looks normal but the doctor still suspects a fracture or a ligament injury, follow the doctor's advice to recheck or get an MRI.

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Don't get dragged down: law and property

    When something happens at the scene, shoot the whole scene first, then the positions, and last the damage and injuries; don't delete the original photos and videos

    If you shoot only a close-up of a scratch on a car or an object on the ground, a few days later no one knows where it was. First shoot a wide view that takes in the intersection, the house number, the cars, the people and the surroundings, then shoot how things sit relative to each other, and the details last. If you have to move something or a vehicle, shoot first whenever you can. Keep the original photos and videos on your phone, and don't keep only a copy that has passed through a chat app.

    • High value
    • Evidence C
    • Saves money

    2 Afterward

    Seeing a doctor: spend less, avoid detours

    After every visit, keep your own copy of your medical records, test reports and imaging

    Reading and copying your own medical records is a right the law gives you. Outpatient records, inpatient notes, lab reports, imaging, surgery and anesthesia records, pathology materials and itemized bills can all be copied. Hospitals must designate a department or staff member to handle requests, and may charge only the cost of copying. Changing hospitals, getting a second opinion, filing a commercial insurance claim, and any real dispute all depend on this stack of papers.

    • Moderate value
    • Evidence A
    • Saves money
    After a major blow

    After a car crash, an assault or a disaster yourself, don't count on a one-time psychological debriefing right after the event; if a month later nightmares, flashbacks and being on edge are still severe, see a psychiatrist for trauma-focused psychotherapy

    After something terrible happens, nightmares and being easily startled in the first few weeks are common, and most people recover on their own. If it is still severe after a month, it may be post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychotherapy aimed specifically at trauma works clearly. Pulling people in right after the event to talk through what happened, this kind of one-time debriefing, does not prevent the illness. In one trial, people who had it were actually worse three years later.

    • Moderate value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life

    3 So it doesn't happen again

    Don't die early

    Wear a seatbelt in every seat, front and back

    Buckling up in the front seat of a car cuts your chance of being killed in a crash by more than 40%. In the front of a light truck it cuts the risk by about 60%. Of the people who died in U.S. cars in 2022 whose belt use is known, half were not buckled up.

    • Top value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Don't die early

    Wear a helmet on a motorcycle or e-bike, and fasten the strap

    Wearing a helmet with the strap fastened lowers a motorcyclist's risk of dying in a crash by about 40%, and of a head injury by about 70%. The strap has to be snug โ€” a helmet dangling loosely on your head doesn't count.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Don't die early

    Don't speed, don't drive after drinking, don't use your phone, and pull over to rest when you're sleepy

    For every 1% increase in average speed, the chance of a fatal crash rises by about 4%. There is no safe level of alcohol where โ€œa little is fine.โ€ Handling a phone in your hand makes a crash 3.6 times as likely as focused driving, and dialing makes it 12.2 times. When you are so sleepy that others can tell, it is about 3.4 times.

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Don't get dragged down: law and property

    Don't touch the steering wheel after drinking, including electric bikes and "just moving the car", and don't lend your car to anyone who has been drinking or has no license

    Driving after drinking costs you a 6-month license suspension and a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 CNY. A repeat offense brings detention (ๆ‹˜็•™) and license revocation. Drunken driving (้†‰้ฉพ) means immediate revocation, no retaking the test for 5 years, and criminal liability for the crime of dangerous driving (ๅฑ้™ฉ้ฉพ้ฉถ็ฝช). If you have an accident after drinking, commercial car insurance pays nothing. If you lend your car to someone you know has been drinking or has no license, you will also have to pay part of the damages if there is an accident.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Keeps you free
    Don't die early

    Put children under 4 in a child safety seat in the car, not on your lap

    For infants under 1 riding in a car seat, the chance of a fatal injury in a crash is about 70% lower. For children aged 1 to 4, it is about half. Holding a child on your lap gives no such protection.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    • For: Child under 3, Child aged 3โ€“18, Pregnant or trying

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