There is always that joy that comes with being able to legally drive a car. But this does not mean there are no perils involved. You will be sharing the road with other motorists, and accidents do happen. This means you should be prepared for anything to happen. Here are the tips on what you can do.
After an accident, you need to fight the urge to panic or shut down. There is a need to stop the car. There is a need to have the car stopped immediately. Driving away is illegal and can only make the situation worse for you. This is why you need to keep the car in the same spot it stopped after the accident. If there are cars moving on the road, you need to go to the closest safe spot. You should then turn on the flashers if the car is still on the road. This way other motorists will know it is parked there.
You should now take some time to breathe. This is a time when your emotions shall be all over the place. You need to calm down before acting on anything. There is a need to be rational when engaging the other motorists.
You need to find out if the other drivers are alright. You need to get them talking. This helps them calm down too. You need to call the emergency response teams if there is anyone hurt or injured. If no one is injured, you should keep at the small talk. You need to also call the police. You will need a police report of the accident when filing for a claim with the insurance company. When talking to the police, do not admit fault to the accident, and also do not shift the fault to the other driver. Tell them the details of the accident as well as you can recall. It is their job to assign the blame. You need to take their names and badge numbers.
You should take photos of the accident scene, as photographic evidence. These photos serve to boost your claims when facing the insurance company. You need to capture the details of the damage the accident did, and of the positions of all vehicles involved.
You need to also collect and give the drivers info. This is how you will have an easier time later with the liability issues that are bound to come up. You need to have their license plate number, name, insurance info, vehicle make and model, passengers’ names, location of the accident, and any eye witness contact info.
There is a need to get in touch with the insurance company immediately for the claims process. Something as flimsy as waiting can be used to deny you your claim. This is when you share what you gathered, and tell them how you saw the accident. You may read more here on that.