No one gets behind the wheel of their car and expects to be involved in a car accident, however it is essential to be aware of the actions that should be taken following a collision. Below are some helpful tips on what you should do if you are unfortunately involved in a car accident.
Stop driving
First things first – stop your car. Regardless of fault, it is actually against the law if you fail to stop at the scene of an accident, as it states under the Road Traffic Act. Once you have come to a stop, turn off the engine and switch on your hazard lights to alert other drivers to the scene of the accident.
Call the Emergency Services
If anyone is injured as a result of the accident, call an ambulance. Whether or not anyone is injured the police also need to be called – when making these calls try and stay close to your vehicle and where it is safe to do so.
Exchange details
If you have been involved in a car accident must provide your personal details to the other parties, including information such as; your name, address, insurance company and contact number. Even if there are no other individuals were involved, for example if you drove into a wall or if you damaged a parked car, you should still write down and leave your details. Avoid accepting responsibility or apologising for the accident – try and leave this decision to the police or the insurance companies.
Obtain evidence
Where possible try to obtain as much evidence as you can. This could be done by seeing if anyone, such as a passer-by witnessed the accident, they could then give a statement as eye witness or perhaps other passengers and surrounding drivers could assist you with this. It is crucial that you obtain the registrations numbers of the cars involved in the collision – this is vital as they may not provide you with correct information or even worse, they could drive off and not leave you any details at all.
Additional things you should do
Along with recording all car reg numbers try and also make a note of the make and model of the car. It’s also a good idea to make a record of the weather, where the cars are positioned on the road and any other information that could be useful to the police and your insurance company. Also take photographs of any damage that have occurred to your vehicle, as well as any injuries that have been sustained.
The main things to remember are, to try and remain calm. Stop your car, check for any casualties, call the emergency services and gain as much evidence as possible. We do hope that you have found this short guide useful. Drive safely.
