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Road Traffic Accident - Dos and Don'ts Following a Road Mishap
By Hermie Martin
Surely, nobody wants to get into any form of car accident. It's already bad enough to have to worry about the people who are with you in the car, but certainly there are other concerns to think about, too, such as the damage to your car, the repairs you have to do to make it road-worthy again, and so on.
It is not unusual for anybody to be anxious soon after a road traffic accident. Your mind may be clogged with so many concerns it's really difficult to think rather rationally at this time. Ironically, you need to clear your thoughts, difficult though it may be, in order to function better. Indeed, you will not be able to gather all the essential information to help you file for an insurance claim if your mind is clouded by so many things.
Chances are you may even forget to move your car to the side of the road, if at all possible. You need to do this in order to keep the traffic flowing freely and prevent the likelihood of some other car running into it. You also need to turn your engine off, and put on the hazard lights. This way, motorists will know that you are in trouble and so they will keep out of your way.
If there are people with you in the car, check their situation and seek immediate medical assistance. You may also need to call the police especially if there are injuries or if the other party in the accident goes away or tries to escape. Even if the accident is not a big one or a serious one, you still need to properly inform the authorities within 24 hours.
You also need to list down the names and contact details of everybody involved in the accident, the name of the insurance company and the type of coverage, the car details of the other party, and so on. If you can find witnesses to the incident, get them to write a testimony of how they saw things happened.
If you, or someone else with you, have brought a camera, take pictures of the accident scene immediately after the accident happened. It's always advisable to do this before moving your car to safety.
If you are able to do so, take down notes or draw sketches of the accident, including car positions. Be as detailed as possible in describing or illustrating the seating positions of the car passengers, the lane you were in, the weather conditions, the time and date the accident happened and many other relevant stuff.
See to it that you inform your insurance company about the accident as soon as possible. The sooner you do it, the better; this way, you get to file the necessary claims from your insurance company to help you through all your expenses.
Unless you are reporting the matter to the police, you should never try to put the blame on the other party, nor should you admit that the fault is yours to begin with.
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