At some point, I will stop playing with my DW layout. Promise.

Moving on:

( LIFE: I am an ill thing. )
( GAME: Disgaea )
( GAME: Sims 3 )

Edited to change the icon, because this one is AWESOMELY APPROPRIATE.

I've just started reading this HP fic, and I've almost been put off it entirely because one of the first things anyone does in the fic is so incredibly stupid it left me gobsmacked, and yet there's no acknowledgement anywhere in the fic I can see of just how stupid it is.

So what's the stupid thing? It's this:

There's a crash involving a motorcycle and a car. Harry sees it. He runs over to the motorcyclist and takes his helmet off.

I hope that most people won't need any further explanation of the monumental stupidity involved in that action. However, I thought "don't take the helmet off an injured motorcyclist" was common knowledge, in the same way that "if it's bleeding hold it up and put pressure on it" and "don't move someone who might have a back injury" are, and yet it's turned up in this fic. So. I have cause to doubt my previous belief.

If you don't have a clue why this is stupid, I'll tell you:

If a motorcyclist is in an accident, taking their helmet off could cause their skull to cave in.

I am not kidding you. Motorcycle helmets are so enclosed and heavily insulated that there's a pressure differential between the inside of the helmet and the outside of the helmet. Leaving aside the fact that to get the helmet off you'd probably have to move the injured person's neck, which is a big no-no for other reasons, removing the helmet after a head injury can destroy a fragile pressure balance where the helmet is quite literally the only thing holding the person's head together.

Right. Basic first aid/common sense lesson over. >.<