Accident at Nissan Trials

[Steve F]

From a post on OL... Ouch, makes me cringe, dont read if you have a weak stomach.

Wonder what affect this'll have on events and insurance

i was 3 meters to the left of the guy and the tree when it came down. the idiot driver was disqualified then in a HUFF went to drive out couldn't get around the tree without a reverse so planted it and pushed the tree down. the guy got totally hammered with the force. i couldn't look at his injuries. his foot near the ankle was COMPLETELY removed from his leg with the leg bone poking out his sock. his head had marks and blood on it.

it was horrible for the poor guy and 2 hours with you foot hanging off in a sock before the chopper got there

Cheers
Steve

[ACJ]

that will be the end off the nissan trials all because of some dumb arse

[Steve F]

that will be the end off the nissan trials all because of some dumb arse

Thought the same when I read it. Either it'll be the end or spectators will be much further back from the track.

Cheers
Steve

[Fat Chili]

Let me get this straight; the dickhead driver smashed into a tree, the tree came down and the tree did the damage to a spectator? is this correct?
Hmmm, I hear major law suit coming on for Driver and Nissan trials, maybe even Nissan if they endorse the comp (they use their name). Not good at all.

[Tropey]

I thought it landed on another driver ??? I may have heard wrong though.

[Steve F]

I thought it landed on another driver ??? I may have heard wrong though.

I think it was another driver, but I'm not sure if they were part of the team that were on the course at the time or if they were a spectator.

[Ben]

Um, is it just mean or has the accident been completely and utterly brushed over on OL? Barely a mention.

If nothing else the idiot driver should be charged with reckless endangerment!

[ARB87U]

i can't find anything that really covers what happened and yea the guys on OL didn't even bat an eyelid...

[Steve F]

And to balance things out another quote from OL

A few points just to clarify before everyone gets too wound up....

The driver who hit the tree did so while attempting to stay in the event and avoid a reverse (not after being disqualified) - a minor difference, but valid.

He said didn't see the guy standing where he was, and I assume didn't think he would knock the tree over, rather bounce off it and stay in the event. Perhaps not the best decision of his life....

The (dead) tree fell and glanced of a parked recovery vehicle, then onto the victim who suffered head and chest injuries and a severely broken ankle (but not quite as bad as was described further up this thread). He has had surgery to repair the break and as far as I am aware is now recovering well in hospital.

He received first aid very, very quickly from myself and another off-duty firefighter. We were quickly joined by others including a couple of registered nurses and an off-duty ambulance officer. The other firie, the ambo, the nurse and many other helpers treated his injuries as best they could, and immediately called for an ambulance and helicopter using CDMA and Sat phones.

The Careflight helicopter arrived about 50 minutes after the incident occurred and the doctor and paramedic stabilised/treated the victim, who was transported by helicopter after about another half-hour to an hour.

Cheers
Steve

[CRDSTU]

Geeeeesus........

Poor bloke.

[4b4fun]

Poor bloke. I hope he has a quick, full recovery. I hate hearing about stuff like this....

[Dan96XJ]

is this the "cough" official story?




And to balance things out another quote from OL

A few points just to clarify before everyone gets too wound up....

The driver who hit the tree did so while attempting to stay in the event and avoid a reverse (not after being disqualified) - a minor difference, but valid.

He said didn't see the guy standing where he was, and I assume didn't think he would knock the tree over, rather bounce off it and stay in the event. Perhaps not the best decision of his life....

The (dead) tree fell and glanced of a parked recovery vehicle, then onto the victim who suffered head and chest injuries and a severely broken ankle (but not quite as bad as was described further up this thread). He has had surgery to repair the break and as far as I am aware is now recovering well in hospital.

He received first aid very, very quickly from myself and another off-duty firefighter. We were quickly joined by others including a couple of registered nurses and an off-duty ambulance officer. The other firie, the ambo, the nurse and many other helpers treated his injuries as best they could, and immediately called for an ambulance and helicopter using CDMA and Sat phones.

The Careflight helicopter arrived about 50 minutes after the incident occurred and the doctor and paramedic stabilised/treated the victim, who was transported by helicopter after about another half-hour to an hour.

Cheers
Steve

[Dorzun]

What's not nbeen mentioned is the guy was realesed from hospital two weeks ago with a fractured sternum, he also suffered a heart attack whilst they kept him stable.

The sadest part is the event orginisers (if that's what they call themselves) had not even arranged for onsite first aid. It's a law they have this for competitions.

They even had to borrow a spectators sat phone so they could call for help.

It is probably one of the worse run events on the comp calender in NSW and over recent years seems to have gone further downhill.

There are many of us that won't even do the comp.

To those flaming the guy who knocked the tree down pull your heads in. If yoiu have ever competed or watched an event you'll have seen it to be common practise.

It's just a said situation that has happened and if any blame can be pinted it should be down to the Nissa Patrol Club. Why did they leave a dead tree in the middle of the track? Why was there no onsite St Johns or other furst aid for the spectators and public. Why do they focus so much on vehicles tyres hanging out and noit on safety such as cages etc etc.

I could vent and rant on and on as I have had the story from people that actually saw it happen but I'd be here for an hour.

[XJ 98]

Steve, good work to you and the other off duty people who helped the bloke out. Should be commended.

[Steve F]

Steve, good work to you and the other off duty people who helped the bloke out. Should be commended.

It wasn't me, the quoting of my quote puts everything in italics so it looks like I wrote it, I didn't. That was another quote from Outerlimits.

Cheers
Steve

[Wooders]

Why was there no onsite St Johns or other furst aid for the spectators and public.
The simple answer to this question is because last year at about 11pm the St Johns bloke asked the adjniing camp to cool it (they were letting off bungers)......to which knives were pulled......
Little wonder StJohns quadrippled the price for this year (I'm only guessing trhe price - it could have been 100x)......
Where does the blame sit? Simple that we as a group allowed a group a fukwits like that to kill potentially a LOT of events and support.......

[Ben]

To those flaming the guy who knocked the tree down pull your heads in. If yoiu have ever competed or watched an event you'll have seen it to be common practise.

And that's why I often cringe watching 4WD TV. As much as I love the show and love watching comps, it shouldn't be common practise. It should be so severely penalised that it never, ever happens. Private property or not, the last thing we need is us supplying our own ammo to the anti-4x4 brigade. :hammer:

[Wooders]

And that's why I often cringe watching 4WD TV. As much as I love the show and love watching comps, it shouldn't be common practise. It should be so severely penalised that it never, ever happens. Private property or not, the last thing we need is us supplying our own ammo to the anti-4x4 brigade. :hammer:
true regarding 4wdTv - as I feel they don't often destinguih between private proporty and public lands....
But aparently the above is NOT a true reflection on the events.
1. the bloke had not been disqualified.
2. aparently the drivehar had yes driven into the tree,but whilst attempting to stay on the course....
And THIS for anyone that has ever competed they will understand how/why... it is an unfortunate ACCIDENT!!.
also the tree was apparently dead and post accident inspection it was hard to identify where there tree was located - ie it was pretty rotten etc....

[Fat Chili]

I love trees on courses (live ones), I have hidden behind a few of them as a spectators and as a navigator in comps - they can be life savers when a rock or whatever under the vehicles tyres decides to move or give way and suddenly change the vehicles direction.
That when I change my stripes and become a tree hugger real quick :-).

Accidents can be avoided in most instances, based on the information presented (posts) it dosen't sound like the marshalling was very effective? But I wasn't their so I don't know ;-). Some things can be avoided but others, well we all know about that. Watched a guy (spectator) at one of the last comps I was at get cleaned up by a huge log that was spat out airborne by competitors tyre, hit the guy clean in the chest from about 3 metres and sent him on his a$$. The poor bloke ended up with a yellow/purple bruise on his gut the literally size of a basket ball in minutes. Bet he won't stand that close to the track ever again. Put it down to 'lessons learnt'.

Simple safety equation - Risk = Hazard x Exposure. Don't stand too close to comp tracks.

[Dorzun]

The simple answer to this question is because last year at about 11pm the St Johns bloke asked the adjniing camp to cool it (they were letting off bungers)......to which knives were pulled......
Little wonder StJohns quadrippled the price for this year (I'm only guessing trhe price - it could have been 100x)......
Where does the blame sit? Simple that we as a group allowed a group a fukwits like that to kill potentially a LOT of events and support.......

Did not know about the knife incident, knew there where fireworks though.

[Dorzun]

I too was not there hence trying not to comment to much, and probably was a bit harsh in saying to pull ya heads in as well.

Subtley said it should have been as Wooders put it. An accident and not the first or last at comps.

[billsta]

I Simple safety equation - Risk = Hazard x Exposure. Don't stand too close to comp tracks.

i agree with chilli on this point...
we have got to remember that 4WDing and comps can be a damn dangerous hobby...
when i first started 4wding... the guys i went with always insist on no one standing behind a vehicle, no one stands beside a vehicle, try to stay way away from the "action" and try to stand behind a tree during recovery...
and unfortunatelly spectators (comp or social) are getting closer and closer to a moving vehicle as the years goes by...
i guess one of the key lesson to be learnt is beware of the danger of 'motor sport'
and after reading some of the replies and explainations, i dont think anyone should blame the driver in a competition situation and i cant blame the 'victim' since the safety issue has been diluted over the years... as a outsider, let just be glad that the victim is alright and luckily help were readily availble...

cheers

[Wooders]

Oi where's the real Billsta???

[Damian]

"stand behind a tree"... hehe... didn't help the poor bloke at the trials...

[ed.]

If they couldn't afford to have an ambulance/medic crew on standby then the event should've been postponed/cancelled IMO.

[Bradboat]

Greetings All

I thought I would clarify a few issues with regards to this accident.

Firstly let me point out I am a member of the Nissan Patrol Club and was an official on another event on that day. Also I DO NOT speak for the club, I am only speaking from my knowledge of and observations of what happened and the response.

This has been an unfortunate accident, but this is motorsport and it can be dangerous and accidents can and do occur. I might point out that the event has been run by the Nissan Patrol Club for 17 years and to my knowledge there has not been another incident of this type in that 17 year history.

A number of comments have been made about the lack of medical crew at the event. Let me clarify the situation here. St Johns chose not to be in attendance, the specific reasons for this I do not know, but suspect the knife and fireworks reasons cited above may not be too far from the truth. (Just as an aside - last year a number of hooligans were evicted from the site for those types of activities - we take a very dim view of those types of behaviours and have no hesitation in evicting people for those types of reasons). As I understand it we were made aware of St Johns decision very late in the process (I believe a couple of weeks out).

The medical response team at the event consisted of a Registered Nurse, and a Professional First Aider who is highly trained and works in this capacity. Both of these people are members of the club and were on standby at the event. In addition to this there are many members of the club who have current first aid certificates at varying levels. We periodically run first aid courses for members as a part of our member training program.

The first people on the scene rendering first aid were 2 off duty firemen who were actually the photographers at the event. They were at the scene when the accident occurred.

Within a few minutes the Club medical team consisting of the people mentioned above were on the scene. They acted to stabilise the patient immediately.

Also much has been made of telephone communications. There is a landline at the site which is there for emergencies. This was used to call for an ambulance. In addition to this a sat phone was used at the scene to discuss treatment and other issues with the doctors/hospital/ambos. The sat phone used belongs to a member of the club and was there for use in emergencies.

A decision was made to get the patient airlifted out. This decision was made due to the impossibility of getting an ambulance down to where the accident occurred, and the extremely bumpy ride that would have ensued had we tried to get him out in a 4wd.

Once the patient was airlifted out he was taken to hospital and operated on. The last I heard was that he was doing well and was sitting up barking orders.

The bottom line is this ... accidents can occur at events like these, medical assistance was rendered within a very short time firstly by people on the scene, and secondly by the medical team that was on standby at the event. The patient was stabilised and transported to hospital. This is exactly what should happen in an incident like this.

------------

I would also like to make comment on some of the statements made above. relating to the organisation of the event. Again the Nissan Patrol Club has successfully run the event for 17 years. It is one of the largest events on the 4wd calendar and has strong support from a huge number of people. The event is run 100% by volunteers who do this in their spare time with a view to provide an opportunity for people to see and participate in some 4wding action.

Could various aspects of the event be run better ... probably, but show me an event that is run on this scale, 100% by volunteers, and is 100% perfect. Also some things that you may not like about the organisation someone else may like about it - you cant please all of the people all of the time. Having said all of that if you have any helpful suggestions and comments that we could use to improve the event then by all means let us know. You can do this by going to www.nissanpatrolclub.org and following the links to the Nissan Trials.

Cheers
Brad

[bobcatrowe]

HEY BRAD ,how do you evict people out of these events without it turning into a riot and without getting your arse kicked ? a very touchy situation to be in.

[Bradboat]

Hey Bob

It is quite rare that we have to take that sort of action. In the main members of the 4wd clubs are very good and are there to have an enjoyable time, it is typically the people who are not part of clubs who just come up to see carnage and cause trouble (a big generalisation I know, but that is just how it seems to be).

Because of this there are about 100 drivers and about 100 navigators who are there from the various clubs who are only too happy to back us up.

To give you a specific example of something from last year a group of about 10 of us from our club confronted a group who had been causing trouble and told them to leave. 1 of that group told us, from inside his tent that he had a knife in there and wasn't afraid to use it. We suggested to him that if he wanted to take on about 90 Patrol Club members, 100 drivers and 100 navigators then he was welcome to try it on, and that if he and his mates were not packed up and off the site within 30 minutes we would all be back to help him pack up, but he might not like the way we pack up his gear.

He and his mates packed up and left without further incident.

It is really a case of diplomacy backed up by numbers.

Cheers
Brad

[Fat Chili]

Thanks for clearing up the issues raised, good to get it from the 'horses mouth', so to speak.

Question - is bunting used to deter spectators from entering / standing to close to the track being utilised?

[Bradboat]

Chili

There are 2 types of bunting used

1) Red and White bunting to mark the track.

2) Back and Yellow bunting to mark spectator areas.

Since I was not at the scene of the accident (I was on another track) I cant comment on where the person was that got hit or the specific circumstances of the accident.

Cheers
Brad

[Fat Chili]

Fair call - it would be interesting to know where he was in relation to the bunting, if you find out.

Thanks.

[tiiiiim]

Good to see the real story come out Brad.


. . im always a bit skeptical of forum "chinese wispers".

(OL has some real BS posters).

As to the degenerates stating they had knives and were willing to use them, that sort of mongrel element has always taken away from the fun that can be had.
that and people blagging on about sueing people.. really spoils a good event/outing/time

my thoughts

[TJ Paramedic]

There is no such thing as a professional first aider. All people who attend these events as first aiders are non paid volunteers. St John (NOT St Johns) charge to attend these events, but their 'first aiders' are volunteers. As an Advanced Life Support Paramedic (a full time paid position) I am aware of the VERY VERY limited skills these first aid organisations provide. They can do little more than apply band-aids and splints and of course ...ring 000. The job they do ,(first aid), they do very well most of the time, but at any of these events that have the potential for very serious injury, where advanced medical intervention may be required, any organiser would be a moron to not have Paramedics in attendance. I am amazed you can even get insurance at these events without it. We regulary attend horse racing, motor cycling racing and are even on standby at sports you would think are fairly safe like rowing regattas.

To anyone interesting in partaking, think about this... if you snapped your femur (thigh bone) and it was sticking out your leg, would you like a paramedic to attend to you who can apply traction devices, fluid replacement therapy (for the blood loss you WILL have) and alot of morphine for the pain and then organise helicopter extrication to the nearest trauma hospital, or would you like to be put in the back of a nearby Hi-Lux and driven out on the local corrugated dirt roads to the local bush hospital (all the time with dust and dirt getting into your open wound - can you spell infection) with no doctor on duty and be seen by a nurse, who at best could give you two panadol for the 10/10 agonising pain you are in and then wait an hour for the nearest ambulance to get to you ?

Metropolitan Ambulance Service and Rural Ambulance Victoria (the two ambulance services in Vic) dont come cheap when it comes to getting them to your event, but think of what could happen if they werent there. Is losing a limb or you life worth it ???

[AJ CJ5]

Shit happens boys.

Hope the dude has Ambo/helicopter cover. Those joy flights cost THOUSANDS!!!

[Bradboat]

Just got back from our club meeting and thought I would add that in addition to the people I mentioned above there were several others (spectators) who rendered assistance including at least one other registered nurse.

After this incident occurred a bucket was passed around at the event and another put at the exit gate in an effort to raise funds to make a donation to the Care Flight Helicopter service. The amount raised at the event was around $1,500, and another few hundred was raised at our meeting. To all those on this site who contributed to that spur of the moment fund raising effort ... a BIG THANKYOU.

Cheers
Brad

[Ando_13]

Hope ol mate recovers well and doesn't sue from an accident in a know dangerous environment.

I race motocross and I can tell you that the cost of a Paramedic is worth it when they give you some morphine when your hurtin! So I second TJ Paramedic from the patients point of view :-)

[Fat Chili]

I used to carry morphine, saline and haemacel in my 'First Aid' kit, I even knew how to administer it ;-) glad I never had too though. Those sucking chest wounds really suck!

[OzJeeper]

There is no such thing as a professional first aider. All people who attend these events as first aiders are non paid volunteers. St John (NOT St Johns) charge to attend these events, but their 'first aiders' are volunteers. As an Advanced Life Support Paramedic (a full time paid position) I am aware of the VERY VERY limited skills these first aid organisations provide. They can do little more than apply band-aids and splints and of course ...ring 000. The job they do ,(first aid), they do very well most of the time, but at any of these events that have the potential for very serious injury, where advanced medical intervention may be required, any organiser would be a moron to not have Paramedics in attendance. I am amazed you can even get insurance at these events without it. We regulary attend horse racing, motor cycling racing and are even on standby at sports you would think are fairly safe like rowing regattas.

To anyone interesting in partaking, think about this... if you snapped your femur (thigh bone) and it was sticking out your leg, would you like a paramedic to attend to you who can apply traction devices, fluid replacement therapy (for the blood loss you WILL have) and alot of morphine for the pain and then organise helicopter extrication to the nearest trauma hospital, or would you like to be put in the back of a nearby Hi-Lux and driven out on the local corrugated dirt roads to the local bush hospital (all the time with dust and dirt getting into your open wound - can you spell infection) with no doctor on duty and be seen by a nurse, who at best could give you two panadol for the 10/10 agonising pain you are in and then wait an hour for the nearest ambulance to get to you ?

Metropolitan Ambulance Service and Rural Ambulance Victoria (the two ambulance services in Vic) dont come cheap when it comes to getting them to your event, but think of what could happen if they werent there. Is losing a limb or you life worth it ???

And just every now and then you get some guys who REALLY know what the options are, stand by at events like VicWinch and are happy to do so if invited. Just 'cause they are retired makes them no less effficent - apart from equipment and drugs....:-)

[TJ Paramedic]

You can have all the training in the world...and the best intentions... but without medical facilities like the equipment carried in ambulances and the drugs, plus the communications to get advanced care like helicopters...it all means nothing...

We live in a free country...so do what you want.... but I wouldnt want to have a winch cable snap and hit me in the face and have no ambulance there... it happens... we just did that very job not two days ago.

Bradboat...good on ya for raising all that cash... it costs $2000 just to put one of our Bell 412 choppers in the air... thats why the bill ends up being upwards of $5000.