At some point in your motorcycle riding life you may have an ‘unscheduled dismount’ or you may be with a rider who does. CRASH is a set of easy to remember steps to keep you safe, as well as the unfortunate rider who has been involved in a collision.

One side of the card has the mnemonic 'CRASH'. The person making the 999 call is the most important person at the scene, because the information they give determines the response of the emergency services. The card follows a similar set of questions universally used by ambulance service control centres, and focuses on safety, the location of the collision, and how serious it is.

The other side includes information used by the ambulance service and hospital, including space to list any medication to which they are allergic, current medical history and the details of any medication they currently take. Importantly there is also space to list the name and contact telephone number of a next of kin. Many phones nowadays require a pin code to access any information, which means that the 'ICE' number stored there cannot be retrieved.

Please put the card in the lining of your helmet because that’s where the emergency services will look for it. Remember – removing a crash helmet is a skill which takes two people and is practiced by trained personnel – don’t attempt to remove another rider’s helmet on your own. Help alert emergency responders to your CRASH Card – place the green dot on the right hand corner of your visor/helmet, making sure it’s not in your field of view. And don’t worry it’s safe to stick on any helmet.

Hopefully you will never need to use the CRASH Card, but just carrying it around could make riders everywhere think carefully about their safety.

For further information on availability in your area, contact your local Road Safety Officer.