WITH the coming of the motorways and the increased density of traffic travelling through the countryside by night and day throughout Great Britain, it is of public concern that the rural accident services should be of the highest standard. Road accidents alone account for approximately 400,000 injured and 8000 killed annually. Perhaps half this number meet with mishap in towns or cities, the others in the country far from accident and emergency departments and usually resulting in multiple injury from high-speed impact. Life-saving and rehabilitation begin at the roadside. Although there must be no unavoidable delay in transferring the injured to hospital, it is essential that the most skilled medical care possible be given on site and in transit. The main aim of such care during the ‘ therapeutic vacuum ’ (Gogler, 1965) is the maintenance of a clear airway, prevention of hypoxic brain damage, and restoration of lost blood-volume. Attention can be paid to the controlled extrication of trapped persons, analgesia and splintage being applied as necessary (Ashworth and others, 1970). The disturbing Pilot Study Report of the Accident Services Review Committee (1970) has demonstrated that definitive medical care, once the injured have arrived at hospital, is of varying standards, and it suggests that general practitioners should be asked to co-operate in any efforts to improve these standards in both town and country.