A scary day: Barely avoided a bad car wreck, need advice...
 

Today was a scary day. First off, no accident occurred, but it was damn close. I was at a four way intersection, which has two dedicated left turn lanes. I was in the inner turn lane, so my driver's side was facing incoming traffic. A minivan was in front of me, and an SUV was at my side.

I don't know how I saw it, but I spotted a white Prius (with NJ plates, go figure), careening toward the intersection on my side. I slammed on the brakes and hit the horn. He had to be going at least 50mph. I don't know how he avoided the minivan or the SUV, but he crossed three lanes of traffic and made an emergency left turn into a Lowes parking lot. It was scarier than hell... I thought for sure I was going to watch the driver of that minivan die in front of me.

That made me realize that the first aid kit I have in my trunk is woefully inadequate for something as serious as a car wreck. I do keep at least a gallon of water and a fire extinguisher in there at all times, but are there any EMT/firefighters/survivalists who could give me some sound advice about creating a first aid kit specifically for my car? I will admit my first aid kit was more for the possibility of breaking down on the side of the road when I was doing work out in Montana, and more to pair with my basic survival kit (fire starter, emergency blanket, paper towels, rope, etc.). Any advice? Thanks ahead of time.

Have you been trained in CPR? If so, I'd definitely recommend a CPR mouthpiece. They cost about $5, and it's been shown that people are far more likely to help someone if they can avoid contact with blood, saliva, vomit, etc. Sounds like you have the the biggest lifesavers already, water and a blanket.
Glad you and the others avoided that accident. Sounds like it would've been deadly.

Noelle

Yeah, I'm CPR certified and I have the mouthpiece. It's just that most first aid kits are for around-the-house type injuries, not potential life threatening, artery pumping, laceration and blunt trauma type injuries. I do know that I'm going to buy one of those emergency cloth shears and keep a knife in my car at all times to cut through clothing and/or seatbelts.

Current CPR protocol no longer includes giving breaths. It's compressions only. They found that pausing to give breaths did more harm than good (that's time the heart is not being pumped).

I also keep extra dog leashes in my truck (one is actually a horse lead). In the event I come across someome in need of assistance, that maybe has a dog or horse involved, I want to be able to help them as well. (I started thinking about this after there was a major wreck that involved a horse trailer with 5 horses, & most of the FD on scene didn't have experience with horses.)

Fire extinguisher, a tool for breaking windows, latex (or latex free) gloves,leather gloves, to name a few other possible options.

Definitely some pressure bandages. Some of those instant cold compresses might also be good to have on hand, as well as some vetwrap. That stuff is great for everything. One other item I keep in the car specifically for accidents I may be involved in, is a disposable camera and some witness cards. Take pictures of the scene before anything is moved, and ask witnesses to fill out the cards describing what they saw, along with contact info. If the police need it later, they can contact them.

I gotta get my butt in gear and get my car bag good to go. Montana don't play, and my old kit is woefully inadequate for winters here.

I'm so glad that things did not go as badly as they could have.
For my two cents, you can find sensible lists of gear in a lot of places. You need a phone, which everybody has already. Think about who to call and what you'll say. It helps to just think about stuff like mental practice. I like Cody Lundin's book called The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive. It's more like universal situation stuff, but very fundamental, straightforward.
What you need on hand in a medical kit is always directly related to your level of training and skill. Probably the main thing is to get some good first responder training. Get psychologically prepared to do the right thing, and you'll rock. It'll be cool. It's not even that hard.
Your water is a good idea to always have around. Ambulances use just tons of sterile saline, so I always grab some saline squirt bottles- the kind people use for contact lenses. Those rock. Some guys take advantage of absorbent materials for dressing wounds with like maxi pads or tampons or like diapers and stuff.
Please always be alert and aware of your surroundings and protect yourself first. If something happens to you, now you're a complication to an already bad situation you wanted to help out with.
Your PPE -personal protective equipment like gloves and eye protection and whatever is most appropriate is the stuff that will keep the badness from coming home with you. Don't worry about looking nerdy or overprepared. It's professonal protection for you.
All kinds of stuff can be modded into good splints. So that's fun. All that stuff is fun.
I need to break this off, I know, but stay safe out there. People are crazy.
I am a former EMT-Paramedic who is sure that he will wish he had written something better. Thanks, Tuppo Your best tool is your mind.

I always carry some of those clotting sponges. I've never had to use them, but they seem like a good idea. And I second the idea of vetrap. You can use that stuff for tons of different purposes. I'm actually getting ready to redo my first aid kit. I tend to carry quite a bit since we spend a great deal of time in remote areas (an hour or more from cell service).

Quikclot, CAT's (combat application turniquite), tactical pen/glass breaker, 550 paracord and a cord knife. A normal pocket knife will take a long time to get threw a seatbelt. Even fixed blade knifes will take a while because of the bulk. A good pair of scissors would be best, now that I think about it.

I like this thread. My husband and myself were in the car the other day talking about the best ways to break loose if trapped in the car and we realized we need to buy one of those little window breakers.

We have two different kits in our trunk. I'm not 100% on what all is in them (husband put them together) I guess I should make myself aware of what he packed up. :p

I think I'll get with him soon to build up a really nice crash kit (depending on what he already has) I always like the idea of being prepared.

Another smart thing is to secure things you transport, and really secure any animals you're moving. Anything loose in the car with you can really mess you up in a crash- a glass, book bag, a can of soup, laptop... I'm always even more careful when I have to put stuff in the back seat of the car with my kiddo.

*People put too much emphasis on seatbelt cutting. Having to cut a seatbelt is a really rare event but you're probly better off with a good pair of scissors than a knife.