Don’t Panic, Do This!

Have you ever found yourself in a high stress and possibly dangerous situation, only to feel like your brain suddenly stopped working?

It’s a reaction we commonly refer to as a ‘brain freeze,’ attributed to an instinctive fight-or-flight response in which our cognitive abilities can momentarily falter under extreme stress. For moments like these, first responders have banded together to provide a few life-saving do’s and don’ts that may come in handy if you ever find yourself unsafe and unsure.

In the car:

• Do keep a fire extinguisher and car safety hammer, equipped with window-breaking and seat belt-cutting abilities, in your vehicle.
• Don’t ride with your feet on the dashboard. In the case that the airbags deploy, your legs will be forcefully driven back towards your body, resulting in fractures, pelvic and facial injuries.

At a concert:

• Do work diagonally to get out of a crowd when you start to feel pressure on all four sides. If you begin to feel a crushing sensation, fold your arms across your chest and hang back, allowing the moving crowd to pass you.
• Don’t become frantic, do not panic, and most importantly never try to push your way out of a crowd. Pushing or shoving can lead to stampedes, surging, and other dangerous crowd dynamics.

In bad weather: 

• Do use turn signals as you normally would when driving in heavy rainfall. The turn signal function doesn’t work when hazard lights are on which not only obstructs other drivers from scanning for turning vehicles but misleads other drivers into believing you are either stopped or experiencing a problem.
• Do not seek shelter under an overpass if you encounter a tornado while driving in a storm. The wind can pull you out and cause fatal injuries.

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