The Better half

[WEC4104]

(deleted by poster)

[Sean]

Personally, I think it would be potentially dangerous if we could not both drive the bus.  We spend a lot of time in the middle of nowhere, and so we have studied wilderness medicine, carry a charged and ready Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and a fully stocked first aid kit, and practice our emergency plans periodically.

With no toad, if something should happen to either one of us, the other will have to drive the bus to reach help.  (Even if we had a toad, the logistics of getting an unconscious person loaded into a car are non-trivial -- I weigh close to 150, and I think the best Louise could do would be to drag me someplace;  I'm certain she could at least get me through the door of the bus.)

(As a side note, one of the things we learned in one of those medical seminars, and I think this is great advice, is what to do if the driver loses consciousness behind the wheel.  Get the foot off the throttle, maintain steering, and bring the bus to a safe stop IN THE TRAFFIC LANE.  Resist the temptation to try to steer off to the side of the road.  For one thing, you are more likely to lose control that way, and possibly run off the road.  But more importantly, if you pull over to the side, likely no one will stop to help, and you will be too busy doing CPR or whatever to try to flag someone down.  If you stop in the traffic lane, you'll have plenty of angry people come over to find out what you are doing there, and when they realize what is going on, their anger will disappear and they will go into rescue mode.)

We seldom drive more than two or three hours a day, and usually I do all the driving on routine days.  But when we get called to a disaster, we run all out, as many as 12 hours of road time per day.  I take a break every two or three hours, and Louise relieves me at the wheel; I will usually go upstairs and rack out on the couch, maybe even catch a few Z's before taking back over.  There have also been times when one or the other of us has had to fly someplace to deal with family emergencies or other obligations, and the other one has had to manage the bus alone.  It never happens to me, but Louise gets the jaw-drop look when she pulls into a campground alone.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[loosenut]

The meaner, er better half has more large vehicle experience than I.  We're new bus owners and she has driven it everywhere but on neighborhood streets.  We bought it from a woman who said she and her husband used to split the drive time, 2 on and 2 off.

Mike

[bigjohnkub]

Blu wanted to drive our 4903 once. Just in case something happened to me. We live in a 600 acre pasture. I hit the shut down switch and pull park brakes before she hit the tree. Now , she don't want to.  big john

[happycamperbrat]

My bus is power steering, automatic transmission. I am a small frame woman. I have no spouse or significant other to drive the bus for me. I travel with 2 kids and my mom. My mom has absolutely no desire whatsoever to drive the bus. I dream of the day I get to teach my 16 year old to drive it though! Right now he is afraid of it and doesnt want to, but someday..... It has been so many years since I was a passenger in a RV that I forget what it's like. But I think it would be cool to be able to sleep while in motion or do whatever I wanted. I love driving my bus, but once in awhile I dream about being a passenger.

[Melbo]

My girlfriend LOVES to drive the bus

She doesn't do well driving at night (which we try to avoid anyway)

She will drive into fuel stops and rest areas but has not driven on the city streets yet

She seems to drive faster than I do but does very well maintaining her lane and passing slower and over sized vehicles

We have an auto and power steering so I am sure that helps also an electric seat so she can adjust it for proper positioning

Melbo

[expressbus]

My wife formerly drove school buses. She has done the High School Auditorium parking lot and one 20 mile run back to the barn after filling up locally with diesel last year. She made me promise not to hollar at her. I promised not to say anything to her that she had not said to me when I was learning and not to say it any louder than had been said to me. Mostly what I had to say was, "Get Left!" She prefers that I drive it because, "You drive it so well!" I do believe she could drive in case of an emergency but calling 911 is usually the best thing to do in most emergency cases. EMS has much more equipment and supplies to deal with emergencies than most of us Nuts do. Them getting to you instead of you getting to the hospital takes less time, they have lights and sirens and Eagles don't fly!

[Sean]

... calling 911 is usually the best thing to do in most emergency cases. EMS has much more equipment and supplies to deal with emergencies than most of us Nuts do. Them getting to you instead of you getting to the hospital takes less time, they have lights and sirens ...

EMS and trauma centers are effective options in less than 10% of the country.  In the vast majority of the US, there is little or no cell phone coverage, few or no trauma centers, and ambulances can be as much as an hour away.

If you stick to that ~10% of the country, then, yes, 911 is your best option.

If you travel where we do, then you had best know CPR and first aid, and be able to drive at least as far as cell coverage and probably further.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[JackConrad]

   I think everyone should know basic first aid (controlling bleeding, splinting, etc) and CPR.  As a retired paramedic, I want to say that in many cases, depending on the medical emergency or extent of trauma and your location, you may be better off getting yourself to the hospital. However, if rescue breathing or CPR is required, you cannot do that and drive at the same time. 
   If you have to call 911, try to give a specific location such as a mile marker or intersection. Also, if you call 911, stay at the location you gave them. It was very frustrating to get a call, go to the location and find no one there.
   Although there are places that have 1 hour response times, most of the departments I have talked to in our travels in the Southeast have average response times of 20 minutes of less. If the problem is cardiac in nature, I highly recommend calling 911.  What happens if the person codes (heart stops beating) while you are driving them to the hospital?  Yes, this does happen too frequently.  In addition to trained personnel, most ambulance have all the same cardiac drugs and equipment as the emergency rooms.
   As far as medical emergencies (as opposed to trauma), early recognition of the symptoms and prompt aggressive therapy is of utmost importance.  This is especially important in cardiac, stroke and diabetic cases.  Jack

[John316]

Thanks for the medical posts. Not to mention just helping somebody in our bus, but there is also the very real possibility of coming on a accident. Just this last trip we were the first on the scene of a accident. We were glad that we carried a fully equipped first aid kit with us. We didn't have to do too much, since the emergency crews arrived within three minuets (of course it was out East in a densely populated area).

As soon as we came to the car, we made sure that it was off, and that there was no gas leaking out of it, because we knew that the car could catch on fire. It  was a blessing because there wasn't any gas leaking, and it was very nice that the fire truck arrived so quickly.

Yup, I think that the more one knows about medical emergencies the better.

Jack, what about teaching a workshop at some of your rallies on this?

God bless,

John

[belfert]

In my travels I have rarely been without cell coverage even at remote farm fields and ranches where events are held.  I do go to one event out in the desert where there is no cell coverage, but at least two people always have sat phones.  The nearest ambulance there is 30 minutes away and a hospital trip (not to a trauma center) would take 90 minutes by ambulance minimum.  For major emergencies a medical chopper takes about an hour to arrive and 45 minutes to an hour to get back.

Yes, we bring some pretty major medical supplies and know the basics of first aid and CPR.

[NewbeeMC9]

Right now, I am the only insured driver of my bus.  My wife has only wanted to drive it one time when I couldn't go with it.  Meaning take it.  I didn't like that one but it is insured. 

She much prefers the ride.

[jackhartjr]

I have said this before; I asked Dianne when we got the bus if she wanted to drive it.  She said...and I quote, "Your job is to drive the bus, mine is to bring you coffee!"  (End quote!)

As to first aid...I always wondered if I would retain any of the first aid/CPR training...or if I would know what to do!
My brother went into a seizure once and it came back ASAP!  I knew from the training to look for the 'ABC's'...Airway, breathing and curculation!

I personally think the idea of Jack doing a first aid/CPR course at the rallies.  I would gladly pay the fee.  I think I payed about $30.00 the other week for the training.  That is assuming Jack wants to do it and he is still doing the training.
Jack

[white-eagle]

i've taken fran out driving at the local fairgrounds, at her request.  she has started it, released the brake, gotten it up to 3rd, stopped it backed it up, etc.  Never on the open road, though.  i asked if she wanted to drive while going from corpus christi to san Antonio.  she siad " ok as long as you don't mine 30 mph".

it would be nice if i could convince her to take over, but she won't change drivers unless i pull over which defeats the purpose of letting her drive awhile while i take a leak.

at least she knows what to do in an emergency.  if something happens to me, she knows where the shovel is, and how to start and drive the bus.

[BG6]

Yeah, but it might have been less traumatic if you had been going FORWARD.

I never did more than about 80 mph with that bad tire going down the freeway! 

I don't remember who I was with but I DO remember getting out of your car and kissing the ground!