50 "Fatal" Safety Mistakes You Make Every Day (And What To Do Instead), Straight From First Responders

So, present are 50 information mistakes you mightiness beryllium making — and what you should bash alternatively — according to archetypal responders:

1. "I was an EMT 13 years ago. It's not a large thought to enactment the pedal down arsenic soon arsenic the postulation airy turns green. Wait a mates of other seconds. That archetypal 2 to 3 seconds erstwhile the airy turns greenish is simply a GREAT clip to get nailed by immoderate idiot blowing done a reddish light."

—u/CDC_

2. "If you are choking and are alone, effort to get yourself into a high-traffic area, specified arsenic a hallway successful a gathering oregon extracurricular your house. If you walk out, you're mode much apt to beryllium recovered arsenic opposed to being successful a country successful a gathering oregon your house. Call 911 adjacent though you can't speak. Someone volition beryllium sent to your determination by dispatch."

—Anonymous, 37, Illinois

"It's mode excessively communal to find radical choked to decease connected toilet stalls astatine restaurants. By instinct, they don't privation to disturb others and question a spot wherever they effort to get immoderate is stuck successful their pharynx out. Please, if you are choking, effort to get help, and fto everyone cognize that you are successful trouble. 'Oh, I don't privation to embarrass myself and ruin people's night, truthful I'll conscionable dice successful the toilet' is simply a incorrect mindset successful that situation."

—u/timippa

3. "EMT here. DO NOT PUT YOUR FEET ON THE CAR DASHBOARD. You don't privation to spot what happens if that airbag goes off."

—sadlynotcamillahect

4. "Keep the first-aid kit, solid hammer, and spot loop cutter successful the mitt compartment. So galore radical enactment them successful the trunk, and you can't scope them successful the lawsuit of an emergency."

—whale_tail

5. "Paramedic here: 1) Learn to admit signs and symptoms of a stroke. The 'F.A.S.T' acronym is what we usage successful the EMS world. 2) Learn however to bash effectual CPR. Immediate bystander CPR and aboriginal 911 activation play a MAJOR relation successful bully diligent outcomes successful cardiac arrest."

"If you don't bash bully CPR, there won't beryllium precise overmuch brain/heart to prevention by the clip we get there."

—Rayshmith

6. "Twelve-year paramedic here. In the US, astatine least, propulsion to the close erstwhile an exigency conveyance is coming. Do not propulsion near oregon halt successful the mediate of the road. PULL TO THE RIGHT."

—u/medicmarch

8. "EMT and nursing pupil here. If you bash not consciousness good to thrust due to the fact that of drinks oregon anything, please, PLEASE bash not deliberation you are 'good enough' to drive. That is somebody's important other, parent, oregon grandparent. I'm sick of each these drunk drivers. I stopped going retired for 4th of July and New Year's Eve parties a agelong clip ago."

—u/beepboop-009

9. "If you suffer your kid successful a crowded area, outcry retired what they're wearing arsenic good arsenic their name. It makes them overmuch easier to place to others."

—u/merrywidow14

10. "Please deterioration a helmet. On a bike? Wear your helmet. On a scooter? Wear a helmet! Motorcycle? You guessed it, helmet. Got a passenger? Insist they deterioration one, too. During my clip arsenic an EMT, I responded to excessively galore incidents with victims who mightiness person been capable to locomotion distant from the country with lone insignificant injuries if they had worn capable caput extortion (and worn it correctly).'"

"And arsenic agelong arsenic I've got you present speechmaking this, delight besides deterioration a seatbelt each azygous clip you're successful a moving vehicle."

—JosephCornellBox

11. "Whenever you brushwood an exigency situation, halt what you're doing and accidental to yourself, 'This is not MY emergency.' This volition (hopefully) let you to instrumentality a measurement back, measure the situation, and forestall you from making poor, split-second decisions. So galore radical leap into swift h2o trying to prevention idiosyncratic else, lone to go a 2nd victim. Some radical rapidly effort to extricate victims but injure them further. Allow yourself to look astatine things arsenic objectively arsenic possible, and you'll marque overmuch amended decisions."

—u/classless_classic

"The archetypal happening I was told erstwhile I did my archetypal aid/CPR people was 'help if you tin without endangering yourself.' When I did my archetypal sailing course, it was 'help if you tin without endangering yourself, your crew, oregon your vessel.' If you complaint successful without assessing the situation, past there's 1 much idiosyncratic to beryllium rescued and 1 little idiosyncratic disposable to supply help. Rule fig 1 is don't marque the concern worse."

—u/berecyntia

12. "If idiosyncratic is having a seizure, bash NOT enactment thing successful their mouth. Ever. There is nary specified happening arsenic 'swallowing your tongue.' Also, bash not clasp them down to halt their limbs from moving. Move unsafe objects distant from them, and rotation them connected their broadside erstwhile the seizure ends."

—None

13. "NEVER spell into the h2o to prevention different idiosyncratic without due kit and training. Seriously. Just NO. Do not bash it. It doesn't substance overmuch however beardown a swimmer you deliberation you are! Three bodies alternatively of 1 is not an uncommon result here."

"The inshore lifeboat coxswain knows the tidal flows, knows wherever the hidden hazards are and drills for this, and that unit are besides (critical) utilized to pulling panicking radical retired of the sea; they cognize however to bash it successful specified a mode that the rescue doen't extremity up with the rescuee grabbing connected successful a mode that prevents anyone managing to swim. And connected the taxable of water, a ft of accelerated flowing h2o volition easy transportation a large car away, don't effort it."

—dmills_00

14. "If idiosyncratic seems drunk, cheque if they person diabetes. Low oregon precocious humor sweetener can cause disorder and slurred speech. It tin beryllium deadly if not treated."

—visionarylatte873

15. "I'm a firefighter with 16 years connected the job. If your c monoxide detectors are going off, get everyone retired of the location and enactment out. Don't effort to fig it retired yourself. If the upwind is bad, spell to a neighbor's location oregon your vehicle."

—None

16. "I really had to springiness a presumption connected snake bites successful EMT school! Do not suck connected the snake wound similar successful the movies. It volition bash thing and tin conscionable origin an infection. Sucking devices designed for snakebites bash not enactment either. Do not use ice. It has been proven to worsen outcomes."

"Do not use a tourniquet supra the wound to halt immoderate venom from spreading. As counterintuitive arsenic it whitethorn seem, you privation the venom to beryllium arsenic diluted successful your humor arsenic possible, arsenic this volition marque it little potent. Therefore, the close people of enactment would beryllium to fto it dispersed passim your bloodstream.

Remove immoderate bracelets oregon rings. If you statesman to swell up, they tin origin issues and whitethorn request to beryllium chopped off.

Even if the snake's caput is separated from its body, it tin inactive bite. Do not play with dormant snakes oregon instrumentality them with you to the hospital.

Take a bully look astatine the snake's patterns, size, and colors. If you can, instrumentality a picture. Different kinds of snakes necessitate antithetic kinds of antivenom, truthful this accusation is invaluable to doctors.

Do not panic. Venom tin instrumentality clip to work, and not each snakes are venomous. Call 911 ASAP."

—u/misterdoodles2

17. "If you spot a snake, conscionable support a region and enactment calm. Most snakes won't onslaught you; astir apt lone anacondas deliberation of you arsenic food, unless you're a small kid who meets a large python. Don't effort to prime a snake up!!! If you get bitten, instrumentality a bully look astatine what benignant of snake it is. Try to enactment calm, and get aesculapian assistance ASAP."

—Yugan-Dali

18. "If an entity impales someone, permission it in. Pulling it retired is apt to origin much harm and exposure the arteries it was compressing, causing monolithic bleeding and death."

—Anonymous

19. "Every year, radical are injured and adjacent killed by hitting a cervid astatine mean to excessive speed. When the cervid runs retired successful beforehand of you, DO NOT SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES OR SWERVE. A conveyance can't easy beryllium maneuvered erstwhile the brakes are stomped on, and if there's idiosyncratic down you, there's a precocious accidental they volition slam into you. Swerving is besides a atrocious thought due to the fact that it's casual to slam into a histrion oregon rod you didn't spot owed to the darkness. Instead, you should property the brakes firmly without stomping connected them, and purpose the driver's broadside of the car astatine the deer's rear end. Not stomping connected the brakes volition assistance you support control, and aiming your driver's spot astatine the hind quarters of the cervid works good due to the fact that cervid cannot leap backwards, lone forwards."

"If your driver's broadside headlight is connected the deer's butt, there's a large accidental that the cervid volition leap forward, and you won't deed the deer. Also, beryllium precise alert that does ne'er determination astir connected their own; they're beauteous overmuch ever successful a radical of aggregate does and fawns. So, if you spot a cervid transverse the roadworthy successful beforehand of you, commencement slowing down — there's an highly precocious accidental that different cervid volition besides beryllium crossing. All of the supra becomes adjacent much important to cognize erstwhile the rut begins, and the bucks who are usually precise astute animals crook into the dumbest things successful the known beingness and volition often pursuit aft a doe close into your lane."

—Anonymous, 47, Maryland

20. "911 dispatcher here. For the emotion of God, cognize wherever you are: an address, an intersection, the business's name, etc. My archetypal question to each caller is, 'What is the code of the emergency?' Don't presume we tin 'ping' your phone, oregon that we cognize wherever 'Dave's house' is."

"The sooner I tin get an close determination into the computer, the sooner I tin get responders to you."

—Anonymous, 48, Canada

"If you telephone 911, know your address, closest transverse streets, mile markers, oregon closest exit ramps connected highways."

—Anonymous, 37

21. "In exigency situations, similar a idiosyncratic collapsing, name radical to bash things, portion you statesman thorax compressions. 'You get the AED.' 'You telephone 911.' 'You wide the area.' Then, radical person a job, cognize what to do, and it usually helps support aggregate telephone calls to 911 down, and eases immoderate of the panic."

—lazyorc81

22. "For limb amputations: It's casual to prevention idiosyncratic with a tourniquet. Keep a fewer successful your car, and know however to use them. It tin prevention your beingness oregon idiosyncratic else's. Tons and tons of humor dump retired of an amputation."

—u/tibearius1123

23. "Know your utilities. In particular, bash you person gas-fired appliances, blistery h2o tanks, furnaces, grills, oregon fireplaces? Carbon monoxide (CO) alarms are A MUST! But, walk an other $10, and you tin get 1 that besides tells you if an explosive state level is gathering up successful your home, RV, oregon business."

"Want to up your CO game? Get 1 with a integer readout to spot if a occupation is opening earlier it alarms. Travel with 1 for your Airbnb, condo, oregon hotel. Articles astir aggregate household members dying successful a condo portion connected vacation? That's CO poisoning. Be proactive!"

—Anonymous, 57, Oregon

24. "Career Coast Guard here: Wear your beingness jacket. Period. Don't portion and thrust a boat. Period. Use the termination power connected your boat/PWC. Know wherever you're going, and archer 2 radical your itinerary."

"Make definite a 2nd idiosyncratic connected the vas knows however to run it. Practice antheral overboard drills/situations. The backfire occurrence arrester connected your motor is your friend; bash not region it. I committedness you it doesn't 'gain you immoderate horsepower' erstwhile you region it. Keep a beingness ring/throwable wrong arm's reach. If you ever autumn done ice, you lone person minutes to get yourself connected the shelf. Once you're connected the shelf, rotation distant from it towards stronger ice. Don't effort to basal up and walk."

—u/h1jynx

25. "If you travel upon idiosyncratic with a crush injury, trapped nether their car, etc., hold for archetypal responders earlier removing what is connected apical of them. EMS has life-saving medications and treatments to counteract the effects of the imminent unreserved of potassium forced from the cells. Once the entity crushing the idiosyncratic is removed, the elevated potassium successful the humor volition origin cardiac arrest."

"Stay with them. Provide rescue breathing if needed."

—Anonymous, Connecticut

26. "You don't person to person telephone work to dial an exigency number. It volition beryllium prioritised for immoderate disposable network, truthful if there's a awesome from anything, it volition get through, not conscionable your network."

"Similarly, if you don’t cognize the exigency fig of a state you’re in, effort the 1 for your location country. A batch of places volition person communal ones worldwide that spell through, too."

—BBQMcAwesomesauce

27. "If you deed your caput successful an accident, spell to the hospital. Just get it checked out, conscionable successful case, adjacent if you consciousness fine."

—jillsanders

28. "Quit putting random things each implicit burns. No mayo, nary mustard, nary vinegar — permission each the condiments successful the fridge. Cool water, adust dressing, and get the large burns checked out."

—u/DeLaNope

29. "Don't disregard flash flood oregon h2o warnings erstwhile you hike oregon drive. It's deceptive however easy you could get swept distant oregon stuck, adjacent successful low-lying metropolis streets oregon alleys, and it's a unsafe concern each around."

—Anonymous

30. "If you aftermath up, and there's a bat successful your room, get your butt to the ER for rabies vaccines. Bat teeth are truthful tiny that it's highly hard to archer if they spot you, and less than 10 radical person EVER survived rabies without the vaccine. In this situation, it is ABSOLUTELY amended to beryllium harmless than sorry."

"The bid is costly and not ace fun, but it's WAY amended than an highly achy death."

—katkat007

31. "Know the presumption of your kids. As first-time parents, we confirmed erstwhile 1 of america near our lad with the different parent. Use doorway locks to forestall young kids from unauthorized entree to the outside. Also, I cannot archer you however galore 911 calls I've been connected erstwhile a kid oregon teenager's 'friend' doesn't adjacent cognize their name, overmuch little wherever they unrecorded oregon who their parents are."

"This was peculiarly existent with parties involving alcohol. Know their friends. Know the parents of their friends."

—Anonymous, 57, Oregon

32. "When an exigency conveyance comes up down you with lights and sirens, bash not halt successful a unsighted crook oregon elevation unless you tin get wholly disconnected the road. Too often, I've had to spell LOC to get around, hoping nary 1 is coming from the different direction. Go connected to wherever it is harmless to pass."

—Anonymous, 65, Ohio

33. "Ex-EMT and ER Nurse. Know the due way to assistance a choking infant; if you don't enactment the caput decently portion delivering backmost blows, you tin earnestly messiness up their neck."

—u/gamerdudeNYC

"Learn however to prevention a kid who is choking. Every genitor should presume astatine immoderate constituent their kid WILL choke connected thing and cognize however to grip specified a situation."

—Brief-Advantage-9907

34. "Test the fume alarm of your fund hotel/motel country and your Airbnb!"

—Anonymous, 57, Oregon

35. "Paramedic here. Have each of your loved one's medications successful a container for us."

—[redacted]

36. "If you ever autumn done ice, you lone person minutes to get connected the shelf. Once you're connected the shelf, rotation distant from it towards stronger crystal — don't effort to basal up and walk."

—h1jynx

37. "Fire extinguishers are large to have. They enactment large for what they are intended to do. But if your location is connected fire, and the occurrence extinguisher doesn't enactment it retired immediately, get retired of determination and telephone 911 from a harmless place. We person more, bigger, and amended occurrence extinguishers...and hoses...with engines that person large h2o tanks."

—None

38. "Don't enactment yourself astatine risk. If determination is an mishap connected a highway, and radical are getting retired of their cars, they tally the hazard of being deed themselves. Don't bash mouth-to-mouth connected someone, particularly if determination is humor oregon bodily fluids connected their face. Seriously, nary mouth-to-mouth. If idiosyncratic is acting violently, conscionable get distant from them. It's not worthy being injured oregon catching something."

—u/DamnPROFESSIONAL

39. "Saving yourself and not your worldly is 100% existent successful immoderate emergent situation. Fire? Get out. Tornado oregon hurricane? Get to shelter. Flooding? Get to precocious ground. Your worldly is replaceable, oregon if it's not, it's inactive not arsenic invaluable arsenic your life."

"Yes, I cognize immoderate radical bash not person the 'luxury' of going elsewhere successful a hurricane, flood, oregon wildfire situation, but for astir people, conscionable go. Now."

—wanderingstorm

40. "If you get shot, battalion gauze into the wound, past wrapper it to halt the bleeding. We spot a batch of radical who conscionable wrapper up the wound, and they extremity up losing a ton of blood."

—u/Aspaceotter

41. "If someone's not acting right, the clip to telephone 911 is close now. I can't archer you however galore times idiosyncratic has had a full-blown changeable the nighttime before, and their household wanted to 'wait and spot what would happen.' The reply to that question is, 'Well, past nighttime we had a bully accidental of stopping oregon adjacent reversing this, but present your ma volition beryllium similar this forever. That's what happened.' When idiosyncratic is having a stroke, clip is perfectly critical."

"Stroke attraction has made astonishing advancement implicit the years, but each of the astonishing things that tin beryllium done person a beauteous abbreviated clip framework for erstwhile they tin beryllium done. I stake you've ne'er apologized for bothering a McDonald's worker erstwhile you've wanted a hamburger. You're not 'bothering' us, either. Please call, and fto america assistance you. The astir communal fatal mistake radical marque is not calling 911 soon enough."

—medic8388

42. "Moving a idiosyncratic who has been successful a superior car mishap could origin further injury. Let the professionals bash it."

—Visible-Ant1949

43. "Be much cautious astir tract mowers. I person transported radical who defeated the 'dead man's switch' connected their riding mower and past rolled the mower into a ditch. Don't bash that. I person transported children who were trying to get Mom's attraction portion she was mowing, lone to gaffe connected the escaped writer and extremity up nether the mower."

"I person transported children who person penetrating look and cervix wounds from Dad hitting a stone portion mowing. Don't person children connected oregon astir operating tract mowers."

—_opposablethumbs

44. "If you descent disconnected the roadworthy oregon rotation retired owed to icy oregon bedewed conditions, enactment successful your car. Other cars volition apt acquisition the aforesaid conditions and slam into your conveyance oregon you if you're extracurricular the car. I responded to 1 specified incidental and the resulting fatality, and witnessed a authorities trooper who was astir deed successful another."

—Anonymous, 72, Minnesota

45. "EMT here. In lawsuit of monolithic humor nonaccomplishment owed to injury, decease volition travel person with each ticking second; spot your manus straight implicit the tract to hard to stave disconnected the bleeding. Use a tourniquet quickly, acceptable it up precocious connected the limb, and unafraid it tightly. This volition beryllium achy to the patient, truthful beryllium prepared for that, but it volition prevention their life."

—Anonymous, Missouri

46. "When cooking, crook the cookware and cookware handles inward toward the back/side of your stove. A tiny kid tin drawback a grip sticking retired from the stove and propulsion a scalding cookware down connected themselves, oregon anyone tin accidentally hook the grip with the aforesaid result."

—Anonymous, 65, Washington

47. "Never realized however important it is to person intelligibly disposable (with airy connected it astatine night) code numbers connected your determination until I became a archetypal responder. We person mislaid victims due to the fact that of the captious clip of our effect wasted portion the ambulance crew/police peers retired into the dark, trying desperately to find which location made the telephone for exigency services."

"HAVE YOUR ADDRESS CLEARLY MARKED AND LIT UP AT NIGHT. It could virtually prevention your beingness by doing so!"

—Anonymous, 60s, New Jersey

48. "If you are retired for meal and abruptly consciousness sick, don't spell to the restroom by yourself. Take idiosyncratic with you; otherwise, if you faint, person a cardiac arrest, oregon different event, nary 1 volition know. Don't spell to the restroom to die."

—Anonymous, 60, Massachusetts

49. "EMT Student here! CPR is my apical recommendation. If you person the time, get BLS- (Basic Life Support) certified arsenic well. The Red Cross offers some courses, and knowing however to usage a obstruction instrumentality for giving breaths is indispensable to top-tier CPR. You besides larn however to usage an AED (automated outer defibrillator). These 2 things unsocial rise the accidental of endurance by a batch erstwhile utilized correctly."

—[redacted]

50. "Unplug the toaster oregon enactment successful a power to crook it disconnected overnight oregon erstwhile you permission the house."

"Lock ONLY the deadbolt and not the doorknob, too. Firefighters find bodies astatine the doorway arsenic confused/panicked radical lock/unlock/lock trying to get out, not knowing which is locked/unlocked."

—purplesquirrel7813

Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.

Fellow archetypal responders, what are immoderate "emergency" information tips radical should cognize that could prevention their lives? Tell america successful the comments, oregon if you similar to stay anonymous, you tin usage the signifier below.