What to Do when in an Automobile Accident

You see it coming. You know it's going to happen, yet everything seems to happen in slow motion, yet so fast you hardly have any time to react. BAM! There is the impact of two vehicles colliding together, sometimes at high rates of speed, making the collision just that much scarier and at times, dangerous; causing unfortunately, major physical damage and most often lots of vehicle damage. What do you do now?

First of all, if you are not in any danger being in your vehicle (such as it has caught fire), take a minute or two to make sure that your passengers and yourself are okay or able to get to a phone to be able to call 911. If you feel any pain whatsoever but can get to your phone and you are not in any mortal danger, go ahead and call 911 right away to start getting assistance for you, your loved ones and/or friends who might be with you and for the person or people with whom you just collided with.

If you are not in any mortal danger and everyone in your vehicle is all in one piece except being a little shaken up and maybe bruised a bit, carefully, if you can, get out of your vehicle to check on the person you collided with. Find out if they need emergency assistance A.S.A.P. If they need help right away, again, call 911 right then and there. If they don't need emergency assistance and if they would like (as long as they are not irate and confrontational i.e. wanting to fight, etc.), ask if they would like assistance out of their vehicle to get to a safe place away from the accident.

Now, after everyone has been checked on and is safe out of their vehicles, if you have not done so already, call 911. Let them know what happened, where at, given them an assessment of the damage done to the people and the vehicles to the best of your knowledge. Be as calm and as descriptive as you possibly can. This will help the 911 operator to better help you, your passengers and the other person/people who were in the accident as quickly as possible and be ready to transport someone if necessary or have the necessary equipment ready when they get there to help you all.

While you are on the phone with the operator, that person will contact the local authorities to have someone come out there to check on your all and to write up your accident report. The operator will also ask you if your vehicles are in operating order anymore and how many tow trucks will be needed, if any, to remove the vehicles from the scene of the accident. If you know someone who can tow your vehicle at the drop of a hat, I would suggest you let the operator know and as soon as you get off the phone, call that person and have them coming from that moment. This could possibly save you expenses of a tow bill, or two, if for any reason you are found at fault for the accident.

If anyone in the accident is being confrontational, try to avoid speaking to them as much as possible to reduce any complications of any more damage done to either people or the vehicles. It is best to never say, "Oh, I am sorry, so sorry, it was my fault". That will end up being used against you if there is any confusion of whose fault it might be, being that you are already taking the fault, whether it is your fault or not.

If you have any flares, walk up the road to set some up to help warn oncoming traffic that they are about to come upon and accident. It is not always recommended to move anything at the site of an accident, but in the occurrences of ours, we had a dust pan brush and used it, a neighbors broom and our shoes to get glass shards and plastic out of the road from where our accident occurred. Of course we were on a back road that was not very wide at the spot of our accident and to help others get past us without any chances of them having flat tires, etc., we went ahead and cleared the road some. In other cases, I would not suggest touching anything until the cops get there to assess the damage.

While you are waiting on the cops to show up, if there is no chance of any type of confrontation happening between you and the other driver, go ahead and exchange insurance and ID information. When you go to call your insurance company they are going to want as much information as possible about the accident, the tag numbers and ID numbers of the other person in the accident, as well as their insurance company information while on the phone with you. After the cop shows up and writes up his report, make sure you get a copy of that written report showing who was at fault and the details of the accident so you can be getting your insurance on the roll for claims. Either way it goes, whether you or the other person is at fault, they will need this information, so it is best to get it to them A.S.A.P., to make sure everyone is being taken care of in the proper ways. Also, if there were any witnesses to the accident, at this time the cop will record their statements and you will have this available to you for your claims. This just makes the claims forms just go that much more smoothly when you have everything from the accident that you need to have for your insurance company, right from the get go.

If you are not in need of immediate medical attention, I do suggest that when you leave the site of the accident that you call your physician right away or go to the emergency room to be checked out. Even if you do not think anything is wrong, it is best to have it in writing for later when the claim forms are going through. This way no one can come back and say, well I didn't go right away because I didn't think anything was wrong; then something happens that could have been a reaction from the accident. A severe pulled muscle shows up a few nights later, or severe bruising on your ribs, an ankle starts swelling; whatever it might be, at least you will all be covered. At the doctors visit they will give you suggestions on what could happen over the next few days and they are trained to notice if you may have some swelling or pulled muscles and it will be in writing. That is always very important to have.

Now, it is not always a necessary to contact your attorney, unless you believe that the other driver will try to contest the cop's written report; or if they may come back with physical or other damages not reported, at a later date. If the accident is cut and dried, it was your or their fault, then that added expense is not a necessary in my book, but if there is any chance at all that the other person or you, might have to go to court to get your compensation from their or your insurance company, then I would highly recommend calling your lawyer as soon as you get home, letting them know what happened, where, when and plan on taking all relevant information to them as soon as you can.

This concludes my brief guide for "What to Do When You Have an Automobile Accident".