'Dealt with Emergency' Question

[JCLeeds]

I have an assessment day rapidly approaching for Northern. I know what they are going to ask in the CBI. This one question bothers me greatly; I havent really dealt with any emergencies especially not of the life or death type. Been racking my brains on this for weeks

Anyone got any examples of this one that they used, either pass or fail? Does it always have to be a life or death situation?

 

[carriageline]

AFAIUI, an "emergency" doesn't have to consist of life or death, but could be, for example, forgetting a child's cake at their birthday party. It's an emergency for you, not necessarily an "emergency" in the true sense of the word, but a stressing time.

I'm sure they just want to see you being unbreakable, maintaining level and clear headed and not becoming stressed, and sticking to what you should be doing. As well as the steps you took to make sure you don't get "overwhelmed"

Note: this is my interpretation of the question, as I have also seen there say similar things in response to similar questions.

 

[Monty]

The example I always gave when answering this question was contacting the emergency services when a customer has fallen ill or a police presence is required. The TOC in question want to see how you can take 'ownership' of a situation and how you might cope in the event of an incident.

 

[daddy_badger]

I was driving home in heavy rain behind a drink driver on the motorway. had a full load, needless too say my front passenger called the services whilst I dealt with the situation without losing my cool as well as trying to keep my load safe and all the other vehicles behind me from passing. driver eventually stopped I took his keys and sat with him till police carted him off. ok a bit vague but hopefully you will get the basics.

was you not asked the same question but in a different context, ' when have had to deal with an unexpected situation'?

 

[JCLeeds]

I was driving home in heavy rain behind a drink driver on the motorway. had a full load, needless too say my front passenger called the services whilst I dealt with the situation without losing my cool as well as trying to keep my load safe and all the other vehicles behind me from passing. driver eventually stopped I took his keys and sat with him till police carted him off. ok a bit vague but hopefully you will get the basics.

was you not asked the same question but in a different context, ' when have had to deal with an unexpected situation'?

Thanks DadBadge, you always come up with the goods. My example is kind of similar, my worry is I cant demonstrate that I did enough myself in the example situation, if that makes sense. I haven't had the assessment yet, but did get asked the 'unexpected situation' and also 'difficult situation' ones in the manager interview.

 

[Dave1987]

I think what the others have posted pretty much sums it up. When have dealt with a situation where by if you hadn't taken the actions you did safety would have been compromised and people could have been injured or killed. It has to be your actions though which is why situations where the emergency services are involved are so strong.

 

[evoluzione]

Very briefly, Riding my bike in Wales (Capel Curig) I came across a group of teens screaming at the side of the road, stopped and saw their friend face down in the water below a waterfall, my pillion scrambled down the rocks to try and save the girl, I spoke to and directed the emergency services to the location while keeping the group safe from the road and stopping them diving into the water.

 

[JCLeeds]

Very briefly, Riding my bike in Wales (Capel Curig) I came across a group of teens screaming at the side of the road, stopped and saw their friend face down in the water below a waterfall, my pillion scrambled down the rocks to try and save the girl, I spoke to and directed the emergency services to the location while keeping the group safe from the road and stopping them diving into the water.

Good example; was this a pass I take it?

 

[AlexS]

I got through with a description of how I acted when a car flipped over in front of me on the M42. Clear communication, keeping yourself safe, and having clear accepted roles and responsibilities are important - for example taking the initiative to begin with, but deferring to the emergency services and standing down as soon as they're available unless directed otherwise.

 

[455driver]

The best example will be one where you as an individual have had to deal with most of it yourself rather than a more serious occasion where you have been one of a group dealing with it.

The individual part is more important than the severity.

 

[TDK]

AFAIUI, an "emergency" doesn't have to consist of life or death, but could be, for example, forgetting a child's cake at their birthday party.

If you used this example it would be a complete failure. If an individual assessed this an emergency what would happen if they forgot to clean their teeth in the morning or kiss their kids goodbye? Sorry mate but an emergency situation is when it is an "emergency" usually a matter of life or death. I have failed many a candidate on this one questions and you would not believe some of the answers I have been given.

 

[daddy_badger]

I got through with a description of how I acted when a car flipped over in front of me on the M42. Clear communication, keeping yourself safe, and having clear accepted roles and responsibilities are important - for example taking the initiative to begin with, but deferring to the emergency services and standing down as soon as they're available unless directed otherwise.

funny, that's where I had my experience also. must be something about that motorway.

 

[carriageline]

If you used this example it would be a complete failure. If an individual assessed this an emergency what would happen if they forgot to clean their teeth in the morning or kiss their kids goodbye? Sorry mate but an emergency situation is when it is an "emergency" usually a matter of life or death. I have failed many a candidate on this one questions and you would not believe some of the answers I have been given.

I retract my previous statement then! I was just passing on what I have previously read on here, I have had a few emergency scenarios I can use, and have used!

 

[JCLeeds]

funny, that's where I had my experience also. must be something about that motorway.

Everyone so keen to get out of Birmingham quickly they drive dangerously

 

[evoluzione]

Good example; was this a pass I take it?

It was a pass, I'm now driving for Northern

 

[JCLeeds]

It was a pass, I'm now driving for Northern

Congrats mate, double congrats even more if you were external. Which depot you at?

 

[lordturns]

Think this is the response I'd use and it happened in 2004. I was driving to a meeting in Leeds and was on the M62 in bad weather, wind and driving rain plus poor visibility. I was keeping my speed down due to the conditions although plenty were certainly not. I had to overtake some very slow moving traffic (crane and support vehicle) and ventured into the third lane.

After a minute or two the car suffered a complete electrical failure, needless to say nothing worked - hazards, indicators, steering and this was accompanied by rapid deceleration. I could not move from the third lane as there were no gaps, traffic was moving too quickly and there was no way of me signalling to others that I had a problem. The car came to a halt and was dead, people were still speeding past and coming up behind me very quickly and I could see them pulling out.

As I was now a major hazard, I called the police and within ten minutes they arrived. In the meantime, a very decent van driver had pulled up behind me and effectively created a shield with his hazards on. When the police got to the scene and had stopped the traffic, they then towed me off of the carriageway to the hard shoulder and yes I did get a chance to give a heartfelt thanks to the van driver who probably went some way towards preventing what perhaps may have become catastrophic for me and others. Phew. Would this answer suffice? comments are most welcome.....

 

[Dave1987]

Don't think people should be posting their examples on the forum. To much temptation for people to try and use other people's examples if theirs isn't strong enough. There is no harm in pointing people in the right direction on what kind of answer is a strong one but not giving a full account.

 

[KT530]

Don't think people should be posting their examples on the forum. To much temptation for people to try and use other people's examples if theirs isn't strong enough. There is no harm in pointing people in the right direction on what kind of answer is a strong one but not giving a full account.

I agree with this. The Structured CBI is very detailed and probing so don't just make something up. They are there to help you, so if your example isn't strong enough they will ask for another.

 

[Latecomer]

Think this is the response I'd use and it happened in 2004. I was driving to a meeting in Leeds and was on the M62 in bad weather, wind and driving rain plus poor visibility. I was keeping my speed down due to the conditions although plenty were certainly not. I had to overtake some very slow moving traffic (crane and support vehicle) and ventured into the third lane.

After a minute or two the car suffered a complete electrical failure, needless to say nothing worked - hazards, indicators, steering and this was accompanied by rapid deceleration. I could not move from the third lane as there were no gaps, traffic was moving too quickly and there was no way of me signalling to others that I had a problem. The car came to a halt and was dead, people were still speeding past and coming up behind me very quickly and I could see them pulling out.

As I was now a major hazard, I called the police and within ten minutes they arrived. In the meantime, a very decent van driver had pulled up behind me and effectively created a shield with his hazards on. When the police got to the scene and had stopped the traffic, they then towed me off of the carriageway to the hard shoulder and yes I did get a chance to give a heartfelt thanks to the van driver who probably went some way towards preventing what perhaps may have become catastrophic for me and others. Phew. Would this answer suffice? comments are most welcome.....

All you really did was call the police though from what you've said. You give the impression that nearly everything else was out of your control. Ideally there would be a little more involvement from yourself in coordinating things, giving clear instructions and ensuring people were safe, etc. If anything the van driver appeared to make a key decision regarding how to make the situation safer.

 

[TDK]

Think this is the response I'd use and it happened in 2004. I was driving to a meeting in Leeds and was on the M62 in bad weather, wind and driving rain plus poor visibility. I was keeping my speed down due to the conditions although plenty were certainly not. I had to overtake some very slow moving traffic (crane and support vehicle) and ventured into the third lane.

After a minute or two the car suffered a complete electrical failure, needless to say nothing worked - hazards, indicators, steering and this was accompanied by rapid deceleration. I could not move from the third lane as there were no gaps, traffic was moving too quickly and there was no way of me signalling to others that I had a problem. The car came to a halt and was dead, people were still speeding past and coming up behind me very quickly and I could see them pulling out.

As I was now a major hazard, I called the police and within ten minutes they arrived. In the meantime, a very decent van driver had pulled up behind me and effectively created a shield with his hazards on. When the police got to the scene and had stopped the traffic, they then towed me off of the carriageway to the hard shoulder and yes I did get a chance to give a heartfelt thanks to the van driver who probably went some way towards preventing what perhaps may have become catastrophic for me and others. Phew. Would this answer suffice? comments are most welcome.....

It was an emergency situation but the question is "Give an example when you have handled an emergency situation" All you did was call the police!. Did you stay in the car? Did you attempt to flag down other drivers whist waiting for the police? What did you do in the 10 minutes whist waiting for the police? These are the questions you will get on this one! Marks out of 10 I would give a 2 or 3

 

[lordturns]

Thanks for you input everyone and yes I agree with the points made across the board -the situation was not a great one to be in and many factors had removed my involvement directly. Imagine if I had decided to leave the car and direct traffic or perhaps make it to the hard shoulder? I could not ensure my safety outside of the car, as the road surface was extremely wet and also people were still whizzing by at a rate of knots - they were simply ignoring what had happened or even stopping apart from the van driver. I could not afford to play chicken with cars, lorries and buses - I would have created an additional hazard by being in the road or escaping to the hard shoulder. As I have been involved with yachts and sailing since the age of 7 years old, I always remembered a rule that 'if your craft is badly damaged but still afloat, then you stay with your vessel unless it is sinking' I suppose that is what stuck in my head. I understood that the police respond very quickly to any incident in the overtaking lanes due to vulnerability of road users.

TDK - yes I agree with you, all I did was call the police - I remained in the car as it was too risky for myself and other motorists if I had decided to decamp and run the risk of crossing to the hard shoulder, there was not anything else I feel I could or should have done. The car was in my opinion the safest place to be. Once the police had arrived, I fitted my towing bracket and steered the car off of the road whilst the patrol car gave me a pull.

I think with this question, it may be difficult for many of us to (a) answer or (b) answer honestly as not all of us have had to deal with or handle an emergency situation unlike a member of the services - in that case you may be ruled out?. Sure, stories can be made up at interview but if your interviewer has any savvy, they can see through this....easier if you can answer from a real life scenario and not make things up - makes for a less stressful interview all round.

I do have some other real life examples I can use - if you don't mind TDK I will ping one across to you.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

There's nothing wrong with the car breakdown example, you just need to explain your decision making. Why did you call the police? Because you recognised that the situation needed a level of management that you were not equipped or trained to provide so you escalated it to someone appropriately trained. Why did you stay in your car? Because you decided, due to the amount of traffic and the weather, as well as your distance from a place of safety that it was safest to remain in the car.

 

[Latecomer]

There's nothing wrong with the car breakdown example, you just need to explain your decision making. Why did you call the police? Because you recognised that the situation needed a level of management that you were not equipped or trained to provide so you escalated it to someone appropriately trained. Why did you stay in your car? Because you decided, due to the amount of traffic and the weather, as well as your distance from a place of safety that it was safest to remain in the car.

I sort of see where you are coming from but exactly for the reasons I stated the OP would have been unprepared for what would follow via follow up questions: "So you called the police, but what did you actually DO?". "OK, so you thought why it was best to stay in the car and for other people to do so, but really that is not a very active example of you working through a whole emergency, do you have another example?". You've stretched it out to reasons for staying in the car. To be honest most questioners will expect a multi-layered example that shows not just clear thinking under stress but someone that can process changing events and respond safely and give leadership to others. I am far from convinced that this is a good example. The situation is, but not the limits of the OP's actions. They were appropriate and correct but limited.

 

[TDK]

I do have some other real life examples I can use - if you don't mind TDK I will ping one across to you.

You are welcome to send me your examples via PM and I will gladly comment for you
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Why did you stay in your car? Because you decided, due to the amount of traffic and the weather, as well as your distance from a place of safety that it was safest to remain in the car.

This is a good point but even on the hard shoulder the Police advise all drivers to egress the car and go to place of safety. People have previously been killed by remaining in their car on the hard shoulder!!!

A good answer for the interviewer would be to quote you did a risk assessment on the situation and in the current circumstances your risk assessment concluded that it would be safer to remain in the car!