Emergency 000
As most parents do on a Saturday, we were on our way home after spending the day on the sidelines of a kids sporting match. We had a good day, won one and lost one. This time we had a bit of a longer drive home having spent the day out of Brisbane and according to Siri we had a 1 hour 43-minute drive home from the top of the range in Toowoomba. Everyone was settling into the drive as we started to make the step decent down the range. In the back seat the 17 year old with ear buds in listening to music. Husband in front seat slouching down getting ready to slip into “nanna nap” mode and me thinking “why did I volunteer to drive home!!”
I turned the corner at the same instant that hubby said “what is that?” A car is blocking both lanes in front of us having flipped over and now resting on its roof. Everything slows down….. and it just happens. Default thinking just takes over.
‒ I angle the car across the road to stop further traffic and put the hazard lights on
‒ “Craig” I shout “Call for an ambulance” as I jump out of the car
‒ I start running down the road, there are two cars pulled up on the side, one white, one grey.
‒ I see a clump of long dark hair in the gutter, my stomach churns, no scalp, no blood (good - tick)
‒ There is a set of legs hanging out of the window of the upturned car, there are two legs and they are moving (tick). “hello, are you OK?” I hear moaning (tick)
‒ Race around the other side, same thing, legs hanging out the window but this time trying to get out of the car and cutting their legs on the smashed glass on the bitumen. “hey hey hey – don’t move you are going to hurt your self – don’t move!” The reply comes – but not in English (× that’s bad)
‒ I move to the back of the car and more people are coming to help. “There is a baby in the car” I hear someone say (that’s really bad ××××). I touch the leg of passenger, we need to know who is in the car and any medical conditions they have – its all starting to kick in now. “Sir how many people are in the car? The two of you and a baby?” The reply comes in broken English “no baby just me and my girlfriend. I’m not good at English but my girlfriend can” (tick, tick, tick - thank you for no child being in the car)
‒ I race back to the other side and find out the names, ages and any medical conditions of the two people wedged in the car. 30 years old (tick), good health no allergies or medical conditions (tick), both conscious, cuts, bleeding, but nothing life threatening (tick). The car is secure, no petrol leaks, no fumes, no flames (tick, tick, tick). Glass is all over the road from the shattered windscreens and windows (×) – need to make sure no one gets out of the car until medical and fire crew arrive.
‒ Next priority – keep them both calm until help arrives (tick).
‒ When help arrives I inform the team of all I know medically about the patients – good health, 30 years old, no allergies, deep laceration on left arm of female and possible head wound, male - small cuts on arms and hands. My work here is done.
As we walk back to the car and watch as the emergency teams do what they do best, I realise this has all happened in less than 7 minutes.
Sitting in the car waiting for the road to reopen got me thinking…..Whilst default thinking works well in these situations, does it always serve us well? It is an interesting question because I think the default answer would be “yes”. However not all situations require this “fast thinking”, as Daniel Kahneman, 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, discusses in this book Thinking Fast and Slow. Slow thinking is generally more deliberate, logical and slower and useful when dealing with difficult tasks like strategy, complex planning, calculation and the like.
But what if we were to apply some of this slow thinking to tasks that really only require this quick or fast thinking. Washing the dishes! Fill up the sink, add detergent, add dishes – wash… What thinking does dish washing require? But what if we were to think more deeply or be more mindful in what we do? Focussing our attention on those little tasks. What if we were to harness our default thinking to those situations where we really should be more focussed? Ever driven a regular route in your car and arrived having no recollection of the trip?
So whilst default thinking certainly has its time and place, have we become complacent? Should we be more vigil with our thoughts and actions and focus our attention on some of the little things. So before you take on your next activity, stop and see if you can focus your full attention at the task at hand. The more you are able to do this and keep your attention focussed the more often you will be able to do it. Before long you will have moved out of the haze of default thinking and moved into the magic of full awareness.
Drive carefully