Things to Do After a Car Accident

By Kiya Sama
Whether you have a fender bender or a major accident, it's likely that emotions will run high and you will be upset and confused. If you have a car accident:

1. Stop and survey the scene. Is it safe for you to get out of your car? Do you need to get clear of the car right away, e.g., is the car on fire or do you smell gas?

2. Check for injuries. If anyone in the accident is hurt, call 911 for assistance.

3. Call the police. Many local jurisdictions do send officers to the scene of an accident, regardless of the circumstances. However, if the accident is minor (no injuries, no severe damage to automobiles), the police may not show up, or they may respond but not file an accident report. If police officers are on the scene, do get their names, badge numbers, and telephone numbers. If an accident report is filed, you will want to get a copy of it.

4. Move your car out of traffic if it is safe to do so. If you have an injured person inside, you might have to leave the car where it is. Flip on emergency flasher lights and/or put out warning devices.

5. Exchange information. Ask the other driver for his or her name, address, and phone number. Get the other party's driver's license number as well as insurance information (name and address of insurance company and the driver's policy number). Also jot down the make, model, and color of the car along with the car's license plate number and registration number. Get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any passengers in the other car.

6. Look around the scene for any witnesses to the accident. If there are any, get their names, addresses, and phone numbers.

7. Do not admit fault to anyone. Fault will be determined later and anything you say may come back to haunt you.

8. Before you leave the scene, write down your recollection of the accident (if you can). Make note of the location, time, road conditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions. Draw a simple diagram of the scene and where the vehicles were positioned. If you happen to have a camera in your car, or someone at the scene has a camera, take photos of the positions of the cars as well as close-ups of damage that occurred. If you can't write down your recollections immediately, do it as soon as you get home and have calmed down.

9. Call your insurance company as soon as possible. Your agent will handle most of the details on any claims made as a result of the accident. If you have to do anything, like filing out an accident report or getting an estimate for damage done to your car, the agent will tell you how to proceed.

10. If you feel even slightly hurt, get yourself checked our immediately at an emergency room or schedule an appointment with your family doctor as soon as possible.

KiyaSama is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Writers.

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Posted by mbuhlah, Saturday, May 10, 2008 4:10 AM

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