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Post-Crash Care

A fire truck and ambulance with EMS crews respond at the scene of a car crash.Enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency medical care, while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust traffic incident management practices.

Our ability to save lives does not end when a crash occurs. Appropriate medical care for people injured in a crash to prevent their injuries from becoming fatal is critical. 

The timely arrival of emergency responders and well-trained Emergency Medical Services (EMS) clinicians is a major factor ensuring an injured person receives the medical care they need to survive a crash. This is especially critical in rural and Tribal communities, where response times are longer and EMS resources more limited. 

Access to Emergency and Trauma Care Is Critical to the Survivability of Crashes

​​​​​​Infographic that shows an 911 dispatched EMS to 1.5 million crashes, 40% were alive when first responders arrived, but later died. 42,939 people died in traffic crashes in 2021. Countermeasures include Emergency Medical Dispatch, Timely On-Scene Care, Transportation to a Trauma Center, and Performance Measurement. Highway Safety Planning steps are a)access 911 and EMS data through your state's database; b) coordinate port-crash care between highway safety, EMS, and 911; and c) integrate post-crash care into your highway safety plan.


Through the NRSS, the Department is committed to supporting activities that improve post-crash care. Managing the scene of a crash and providing a safe environment for first responders and passing travelers are also critical elements of delivering effective post-crash care.

Key Departmental Actions to Enable Safer Post-Crash Care

View a full-screen version of the below NRSS Dashboard.