EMS Week Safety Spotlight: Reducing Motorcycle-Related Injuries in Texas

FORT WORTH, TX—EMS Week is May 15–21, and May is also Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

Last year EMS crews from MedStar Mobile Healthcare, an ambulance provider in the Forth Worth area, treated 457 motorcycle crash victims—65 were critically injured, and 13 were dead on scene.

So far in 2022 the company has treated 111 motorcycle crash victims—18 were critical, and 4 were dead on scene.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and to support victims and first responders, MedStar and area first-response agencies are making Rider Alert safety cards available for all area motorcycle riders.

“As an EMS provider and a motorcycle rider, I have the Rider Alert card and sticker on my helmet,” explains Matt Zavadsky, strategic integration officer for MedStar, who adds the cards were designed by paramedics who have been on both sides of accidents as both injured riders and first responders. “Accessing this basic information after an ‘unscheduled dismount’ can sometimes be impossible. This small tool could mean the difference between life and death.”

“Motorcycle crash victims are often unconscious when we arrive, making it very difficult for us to know the patient’s medical history or emergency contacts,” says Shannon Rucker, a veteran MedStar paramedic and avid motorcyclist. “Another major concern for crash victims is untrained Good Samaritans attempting to remove the rider’s helmet, which can cause further injury.”

The Rider Alert card is placed inside a rider’s helmet and contains vital lifesaving information, emergency contacts, and any important medical history.

When first responders arrive on the scene of a motorcycle crash, a 1-inch sticker on the outside of the helmet indicates the biker has the Rider Alert Card inside. The sticker also warns untrained responders not to remove the helmet, which could prevent further injury.

The card and decal are free and can be picked up at MedStar’s headquarters, area fire stations and motorcycle dealerships, or through the mail (send a request to info@medstar911.org).

Responding to over 155,000 calls each year, MedStar Mobile Healthcare is the exclusive emergency and nonemergency ambulance service provider to over 1.1 million residents throughout Fort Worth and 14 member cities. Established in 1986, MedStar is governed by the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority board of directors and is one of only 22 EMS providers in the country to hold dual accreditation for ambulance operations and 9-1-1 emergency medical dispatch.

Visit www.medstar911.org for more information.