VOL. 54 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 12, 2017 P25
KURT CASELLI FOUNDATION HOSTS CPR
AED FIRST AID TRAINING
W
hen Taylor Robert laid un-
conscious immediately fol-
lowing a high-speed and violent
crash at the King of the Motos
extreme race earlier this year,
the first person on the scene
was not a medical professional
equipped to assess the situation
and provide care. It was a fellow
competitor.
This is a familiar scene in
off-road motorcycle racing and
recreation. Often, first respond-
ers to emergencies aren't
trained professionals, they're
riders. And the vast majority of
riders aren't trained in life-saving
or supporting techniques.
Luckily, there was emergency
transport on-site fairly quickly
that day and Robert was cared
for and expedited to a hospital—
eventually recovering from seri-
ous internal injuries to resume
his regular championship series'
later in the year.
But the incident opened some
eyes and Robert made a per-
sonal appeal to the Kurt Caselli
Foundation to educate more
racers (including himself) in what
to do if first on-scene of an ac-
cident. The goal to train racers
on CPR and First Aid protocols
was born.
The KCF hosted its first
training day immediately follow-
ing the 5th annual Kurt Caselli
Foundation ride day this month
in California. On hand were top
racers across off-road disci-
plines, industry leaders, team
managers, mechanics, coaches
and KCF staff. In all, over 20
people were trained and certi-
fied in CPR AED and First Aid.
Cycle News was invited
as participating media and
we spent the day learning to
assess emergency situations
and when/how to apply CPR
techniques, how to use AED
machines and how to admin-
ister first aid in the event of an
emergency.
The knowledge gained in a
full day classroom setting cannot
be replicated. And after com-
pleting our training, we highly
encourage certification-level
training for all motorcycle rac-
ers, as well as their families and
club members, track owners,
fans and anyone who might be
in a position to help a downed
rider in the future. The cost is
minimal compared to gain the
confidence to make smart deci-
sions when it matters.
The KCF, as part of its dedi-
cation to improve rider safety,
will expand its training program
in the near future.
Stay tuned to Cyclenews.com
for a full story about our training
day, and for more news about
this initiative. CN
Jesse Ziegler
Taylor Robert (left) and Cycle
News' own Jesse Ziegler know
that first responders in a crash
are more often than not riders
themselves.
