Emergency Protocol

I met Sejal for lunch today, and as we were leaving in our separate cars, I watched her nearly get T-boned by someone who ran a red light going the opposite direction across the intersection. Thankfully she was able to brake in time, and everything was fine, but for a terrifying moment I thought I was going to watch my friend get...well, killed, if I'm honest. The other driver didn't touch their brakes while flying through the intersection.

Once we both got back to work, we ended up having a conversation over instant messenger about how to handle situations like that. It's very likely I wouldn't have been able to ask her who to call or what to do. She and I are close enough friends that I easily figured it out in her cell phone contacts, but if not?

In the days before cell phones, how did you know who to contact in case of an emergency, for an unconscious person?

And have you thought through what you would do in case of an emergency like that? The discussion felt very morbid and at first I didn't want to even think about it, but after she walked me through what should be done (she's a certified EMT), I feel a little better about being able to handle a similar situation. In Girl Scouts they always told us to Be Prepared. Today was another good example of why.