9 Steps to Take if You Are in a Car Accident

Being involved in a car accident can be incredibly scary. If you’re not seriously injured, then it’s important to remain composed. The following are the steps that you should take in the aftermath of a car accident in order to ensure everyone’s safety and to get the information you need in order to file an insurance claim:

1. The first thing you should do is check to see if everyone in your car is okay. If the car is in a dangerous position that threatens the safety of everyone in the car, then you’ll want to get exit the car and get to safety. However, if there are any serious injuries and no one is in immediate danger, you’ll want to avoid moving them to prevent further injury.

2. Once you’ve checked everyone in the car, you’ll want to call the police in order to report the accident as well as any injuries to anyone in the car.

3. If another driver is involved in the accident and no one is seriously hurt, then you’ll want to exchange all pertinent information. This includes the following:

• Write down the driver’s license number of the other driver.

• Write down the registration as well as the insurance agent’s name of the other driver.

• Write down the insurer as well as the other driver’s policy number.

• Write down all of the names, addresses and phone numbers of everyone involved in the accident.

• Write down if any of the individuals, such as the driver and any of his or her passengers, are hurt or not.

• Write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of any nearby witnesses. Once the police come, write down their names and badge numbers as well.

• Write down the time, weather, road conditions and how the accident happened.

4. Once the police show up, give them all the information they ask for. However, do not make any statements that may be self-incriminating as these could be used against you at a later date.

Car Accident

5. If you have a camera or a camera on your phone, then take plenty of pictures of the damage. Get both close up photographs of the damage as well as wide shots so that you can see the positioning of all cars that were involved in the accident.

6. Keep your car in place unless it is in a dangerous position, such as in the middle of the road. It will help to substantiate your claim if the police can record the exact position that the cars involved in the accident are in. If your car is in a dangerous position, then you may want to either set up some warning flares or move the car to the side of the road.

7. Once you leave the scene of the accident, whether you’re able to drive home or your car is towed, you’ll want to file an insurance claim. Before calling your insurance agent, have your policy number on hand as well as all the information you recorded at the scene of the accident.

8. Keep hold of all relevant documentation, from the notes you’ve taken to receipts from expenses caused by the accident, from having your car towed to having to stay at a hotel over night because you were in a car accident out of town.

9. You will then have to have your car checked by a body shop or by a drive-in claims center, where an estimate will be made for the damage done to your car.

Making sure that you do everything that you can in order to remain safe on the road is important, but accidents do happen. If you are in a car accident, then be sure to follow these tips to make sure everyone is safe and that you have the information you need to file an insurance claim.