What You Should Do When You Are Involved In A Car Accident

Stop the car

This might seem obvious, but not everyone does think to stop their car safely and turn off the engine immediately following a crash. You do need to do this to comply with the law and to ensure your vehicle is safe.

It is then worth putting your hazard lights on to notify other drivers that your car is stationary and that you are currently unable to move.

Ensure that you and your passengers are unharmed

Before moving yourself, you must ensure that you are safe and unharmed. If you are, then you can check with your passengers and talk with one another to help to handle the shock.

You will then need to call the emergency services. You might be in need of medical help or the other car involved may need help. You should then call the police to report the incident and they may be needed to safely clear the carriageway of any debris. 

Exchange details with the other party involved

If it safe to do so and you are well, you should get out of your car in order to exchange details with the other party involved.

Do not discuss the details of the accident together and avoid assuming responsibility for it. This will be a matter for your insurance company to resolve. Take down their contact details and who they are insured with, along with their car license plate. You should also take photos of the scene of the accident.

Look for witnesses

In many cases, if people are around and they witness a car accident, they will pull over and check that everyone is okay and offer their details so that they can act as a witness.

In addition to people, you might find that technology can act as your witness. If there is no-one around, people fail to stop or nobody saw what happened, do look for cameras.

There are often security cameras around stores and premises, cameras along the highway and then there are vehicles that might be fitted with a dash cam.

Seek medical attention

If you are feeling any ill-effects at all from the car accident, you must seek medical attention.

It can be common to suffer from whiplash following a car accident. The signs to look out for are dizziness, neck stiffness, headaches, pain in the back or shoulders, fatigue and numbness in your arms. It is important that you see a doctor who can advise you and treat you, and also in the event that you wish to make a claim as you will need your doctor to supply evidence of your condition.

File a claim

You will need to notify your insurance company as soon as possible about the accident.

They will talk you through the details that you need to share in order to make a claim. They will want to know how the accident happened and where and when, so ensure that you have those details committed to memory or make a note of everything at the time. They will then need the details that you have collected from the other party, along with any medical referral and incident report numbers.

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