I have no trouble remembering the worst day of my life as I write this. I didn’t lose my job, split up with my partner, or forget to get tickets for my favourite vacation destination on that day. Despite belonging to a generation that embellishes as frequently as we breathe, I can state without hesitation that May 22, 2019, was the worst day of my life. On their way home from school, my 16-year-old little brother and a friend were hit by a car in Srinagar.
It was just another day and I was awakened by my alarm’s multiple rings. Not in the mood to go to work, as usual, I slept for a short while longer. After a while, the sun’s glare through the window roused me to slide out of my bed after softly stretching my arms. My mother was summoning me for breakfast from downstairs. I still wasn’t sure what I should wear that day to a crucial meeting in my workplace. I finally found something to wear after looking around for long. I was not shocked to see that I was running late when I looked at the time. I hurriedly consumed half of my breakfast and set the other half on the table. I got into my vehicle and drove to office. After 2 hours, I received a call from my father. I was surprised to see his call at that time, a new thing for me. When I received his call, I felt his agony as he told me about the accident of his younger son. My legs began to tremble. It was a really jarring time when my phone buzzed with a message from a common buddy in a WhatsApp group with a photo of a person bathed in blood. I ran without looking at the picture to the Emergency ward at SMHS Hospital.
Kashmir is undergoing fast urbanisation, motorisation, and industry, yet a lack of safety-related regulations and programmes has led to an increase in the number of road traffic incidents. An accident, whether little or big, is a dangerous condition to be in. It is estimated that 55 traffic accidents occur every 60 minutes in India. As a result, having a basic understanding of what to do and what to avoid when engaged in a car accident is essential. Let us examine some critical facts if involved in an accident, whether as a victim or a bystander.
Accidents are seldom pleasant to witness, but if you are engaged in one, your goal should be to aid. Who is to blame: that can be considered later. If you see that individuals are hurt in an accident, the first thing you should do is yell “help” several times. Locals must be the first to arrive at the scene of an accident. Rather than capturing video and broadcasting it live on social media, never be a mute observer. Never crowd around the accident site, crying for aid or yelling at each other for assisting the injured. Even if the accident is minor, never (I repeat, NEVER) escape an accident scene in which you are involved. Worse, you are abandoning casualties that may be saved. Furthermore, if you flee, you will very certainly be charged with Hit and Run. This might lead to incarceration.
However, you can only help people if you strive to remain calm and think logically. Do not remove the pierced object/s, as this will just aggravate the bleeding. The only thing impeding blood flow is the pierced object. It is preferable to delegate this task to a medical practitioner. A spinal damage can be detected by looking at a person’s neck after a fatal accident. Do not try to relocate that individual if it is at an abnormal angle. Because it is difficult to establish the degree of an injured person’s injuries, it is better not to feed a person on the scene of an accident. They may choke or be unable to chew food owing to jaw injuries.
A serious accident is one that results in life-altering, and occasionally fatal, injuries. These injuries have an influence not only on the sufferer as an individual, but also on the victim’s friends, employer, and family members. A serious accident may push a family to its breaking point in a variety of ways. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a terrible accident, you are not alone. A significant injury has immediate bodily consequences. The victim may be in excruciating agony or perhaps unconscious, leaving their family wondering whether they will live. The physical hurdles persist after they begin their road to recovery. They may be unable to move freely or tend to their own daily requirements, necessitating the intervention of family members. A major accident’s financial consequences might linger for decades. The initial expenditures are sometimes expensive; even the most financially secure family might be bankrupted by lifesaving medical care and property replacement. Many serious injuries need long-term therapy and care.
According to a survey done by researchers, the age range of 21-30 years had the greatest rate of road traffic accidents. Males were more impacted than females. The most accidents happened between 6 p.m. and 12 p.m. Only 9.75 percent of those injured arrived at a specialist hospital within one hour of the event. The most prevalent injuries were head and spinal injuries. The collisions included more occupants than drivers and pedestrians. Two-wheelers were the most common vehicles involved in traffic accidents.
Road accidents can be avoided. A large number of road deaths and injuries are not an unavoidable effect of motorisation. Countries that have been successful in increasing road safety, such as Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, and others, have done so via the implementation of road safety action plans. Adoption of an effective road safety strategy was the primary driving force behind these countries’ significant reduction in road deaths. Governments and road safety organisations work at several levels to reduce the danger of traffic accidents. This level of complexity necessitates the use of some kind of planning strategy. We know that road accident mortality may be substantially reduced, but we must persuade decision-makers, concerned stakeholders, and the general public that the country’s current road safety system need significant reform and upgrading. Road deaths can be dramatically reduced if enough people and interests are convinced that they want it to happen and are prepared to work together without biases or entrenched interests to make it happen.
Thank you, Almighty Allah, for preserving my brother from the accident after a long and difficult fight. My condolences to the departed mate of my younger brother who was killed in the tragedy. My brother’s life was saved due to the collective efforts of stakeholders involved, including a person whose prompt and swift action response (because he was the first to come to my brother for assistance when he was begging for it) and that ambulance driver who drove my brother to hospital in the shortest possible time, and then a team of skilled and experienced doctors in the Emergency Department of SMHS hospital.

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Aamir Manan Deva