As a general rule, the aim should be for a scene time of 20 minutes or less for non-trapped major trauma patients.⁽⁷⁾.
Literature has suggested that prolonged scene times in the major trauma patient negatively effects morbidity and mortality.^{(8, 9)}. It is acknowledged that longer scene times may occur when necessary interventions that cannot be performed whilst in transit are required. In these circumstances a risk / benefit analysis should be undertaken to determine if the interventions are essential (including consideration for proximity to the appropriate health service) or whether transport with care in transit should be the priority. Additional considerations that may influence scene time include the number of patients, resources available, and the time to a non-MTS hospital versus time to aeromedical transport to enable direct transport to a MTS.

Extricating the victim from the scene
_{Image used with permission from Ambulance Victoria}