On the training front, one of the more useful things I've learned is how to tell when a situation is best handled by professionals; sometimes it isn't obvious. In the last few years I've rolled up on several car wrecks and about four falls in public where being able to rapidly survey the injured person and determine if they need further care has been helpful.

The most memorable of these had me pulling over at the scene of a moments-previous low-speed car vs. bicycle collision. Neither the driver nor the bicyclist seemed inclined to call for help, and there were no visible injuries beyond one minor scrape.

I spent about sixty seconds working to evaluate the bicyclist. He was disoriented, had the "stumbles, fumbles, mumbles and grumbles" and was definitely not hypothermic. When I announced that I was calling for an ambulance the bicyclist complained that he didn't want one. I responded, "Buddy, you are going to GET. IN. An ambulance." While I have no legal or moral power to require strangers to submit to medical care, the injured bicyclist didn't know that, and meekly entered the ambulance when it arrived.