Road traffic accidents: to stop, or not to stop?
BMJ 2001; 322 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.010486 (Published 01 April 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;322:010486
- Georgia Ingram, senior house officer1
- 1Bradford Royal Infirmary
Preparing for what they don't teach you at medical school
Picture yourself driving down a long, monotonous stretch of dual carriageway at the weekend. Ahead in the road you become aware that the traffic stream is slowing, and then you see before you the twisted outline of three vehicles that have come off the road ahead. There are a few people milling about outside the cars but no evidence of any organised police or ambulance activity. This is a very “fresh” road accident, and your reaction to coming across it is a tight knot in the stomach, a rising sense of adrenaline, and your inner voice groaning “Oh no…” as you pull over.
You may decide not to pull over. Unless you have the misfortune to be around a road traffic accident you will never need to make that decision. But it is worth thinking about your attitude to good Samaritan acts in advance. It is, after all, much easier to rationalise about whether you would try to help, and what you might achieve, with a clear head than in the thick of disrupted traffic.
In the United Kingdom there is no legal obligation for anyone to stop and help at a road accident. Ethically and morally the General Medical Council encourages trained doctors to provide “anyone at risk with the treat. ment you can be reasonably expected to give.” …
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