Car Number 121

Imagine a nice, mild wintery day on a country road. There's some snow on the wide, open fields, but not too much. It's cool as opposed to cold, so a nice, warm jacket will do. There are no leaves on any trees; no shrubs or tall grass. And it's sunny because there are very few clouds in the sky.

While country roads are not that busy, one of my dear friends (who has decided to remain unidentified), found himself on a country road one day that was surprisingly popular. During a period of about an hour-and-a-half, he counted approximately 120 vehicles - mostly trucks, but some cars and two tractors - pass on by.

What I found odd upon hearing his story was what he was doing. In those outskirts, if you saw a vehicle parked at the side of the road with nothing odd about the vehicle itself (and there wasn't with his), that meant people were going for a walk, cycling (although not at that time of year), or blueberry picking (although not that time of year). For that one-and-a-half hours, my friend was neither cycling, nor going for a walk, nor picking berries. He was right next to the road in the very shallow ditch - not two feet deep - surrounded in white snow, wearing dark winter clothes.

The act of choice was a quiet method of suicide. From what he gathered from his point of view, the people in the front seats of about 60% of the vehicles that passed by were in a position to see him. None of those 120 vehicles stopped. None of those 120 vehicles called emergency services. Fortunately, just before exiting his car, he had messaged family where to find the vehicle. It was they who called emergency services once they had eventually checked their email.

My dear friend is still alive in spite of his mal-intentioned efforts and is recovering well. This is where my own story - and this article - takes a sharp turn. Over the years I had thought that both family and strangers were people from whom I could take responses personally. My friend's story shook my view of the latter into a much healthier viewpoint: expectations of strangers speak only to community, nothing personal.

In other words, what you can expect from strangers defines elements of a community, not yourself. It's a reason why people have the (otherwise odd) preference of sharing a belief system or ethnicity - you know what you can count on and one of those very general expectations is safety.

Given what didn't happen to my dear friend, I want to remove one of the barriers required to build a stronger community, one independent of faith and ethnicity. The point of this article is this: when you encounter a shocking situation when someone is in need of assistance, call emergency services and then, if you can,

apply GOBS H2O. It's really simple!

I am not going to lie, I would not have known what to do if I saw someone on the side of the road lying down or kneeling, surrounded by red snow. I do now and I will share it with you. The only absolute necessity is to call emergency services (911 in my country and region). Provide the location and what you see. No need to even get out of your own car.

If you are confident in approaching the scene to try to talk the person out of it (or delay things long enough for emergency services to arrive), apply GOBS H2O first. The symbol of this is in the image below. (Note: I am not providing advice to approach. You must use your own judgment and make your own choice. If you have made the choice to approach, then I advise applying GOBS H2O.)

GOBS H2O has to do with scanning the scene - but for what? Well, in keeping yourself safe, start with looking for any projectiles. Guns or bullets? Objects that are Blunt (e.g. rocks) or Sharp (not only knives)? Any of those could come your way and it's entirely pointless to try to intervene only for you to end up dead, too!

The second group of items to look for are environmental factors, the H2O. The two H's are water (hydro) and heights/elevations. The O part is based on the symbol for voltage or in other words, open sources of electricity. (I remember doing a first aid course a long time ago and one scenario was a dark room and anyone who turned on the light or walked more than two steps in had to lie down on the spot to symbolize that they had been rendered unconscious due to a electric shock and were now also in need of assistance! Yes, I was the first one in and the second person lying down. Fortunately, the other trainees learned quickly and resuscitated both myself and the other person. But I digress.)

If water, heights, and electricity do not pose a threat, or if they do and you can easily mitigate them to stay safe, then approach at your own risk - although maintain caution. (Note: I am not providing advice to approach. You must use your own judgment and make your own choice.)

For any conversation you are able to strike up with the person in distress, I would advise to keep it very simple. My own federal government has a few key points mentioned here, or perhaps one scene in particular in the movie Pay it Forward inspired you. Whatever your motivation, keep the conversation very simple.

Another thing I have learned in the many times I have taken first aid training over the years is the helper. Assess the impact the situation had on you. Yes you, the person who was not in distress before arriving on the scene. It could be with family or friends, or even a quick assessment from a mental health professional. Those kinds of situations are trying on anyone, so do NOT dismiss this step!

I hope that helps you become car 121, the one that at least calls emergency services. (If you want to start a hashtag of #car121 for responses to such incidents, then feel free.) The only other impact of my dear friend's story had on me is the fact that in the next few years, I will not consider moving anywhere near the area in which this upsettingly true story took place!

As I seek to uplift, subscribe for free below to become notified right when I publish more thought-inspiring articles of things that in life that strike me as interesting. Alternatively, you can always bookmark this page where you will find all articles I have published here on Vocal Media.