Why You Should Keep an Accident Kit in Your Car

Things are changing in the world, and the time for self reliance is becoming more prevalent than ever. Due to recent financial constraints, many police departments are placing freezes on hiring new officers. This freeze is creating a gap in coverage for some departments. It can directly impact you in an important way. If you call for assistance after an accident, there may not be an available officer to respond. This is highly common in instances of bad weather when areas are placed into accident alert. This means in most cases that if alcohol or drugs have not been involved that the parties will be responsible for making their own reports and letting the insurance companies sort out the details. This practice is becoming more common throughout the States.

Unfortunately, most people do not consider the ramifications of not having an officer on the scene. The presence of an officer on the scene is helpful to assess who was at fault, and the important details to present to the insurance company. I have created a short list with the help of my husband who is a professional driver.

The accident kit itself is very easy to assemble and place in your vehicle. The hope is that you will never have to use it, but anything is possible. The things that you should have to protect yourself in the instance that an officer is unavailable to respond are a disposable camera, paper and pen. You may want to use these items even if an officer does arrive on the scene. This way you will have a great deal of information to present to the insurance company. In most cases, if an officer does arrive they will normally take pictures but you should plan on taking your own as well.

A disposable camera with a flash is best and highly recommended. Accidents do not only happen in the daytime, and it is advisable that you should have a flash for nighttime pictures. You should take pictures of everything, and anything that you believe is important. Take pictures before moving the vehicles if at all possible. Taking pictures may not always be feasible until after you have moved the vehicle, especially in dangerous areas such as highways, or busy intersections.

Some of the things you will want to photograph are aspects such as the damage on the car, skid marks, the street or intersection names if possible and the license plate on the other vehicle, and yours as well. You may want to attempt to take a picture of the other person's insurance card and license if they will allow you to do so. Many people will not feel comfortable doing this but they must allow you to view their registration, insurance card and driver's license to collect the information from them.

You may also want to call and verify that they are insured with the company that they say they are. This may not be on your mind at the time, but it could prevent further complications. If you do contact the insurance company, even if you believe that you are at fault do not admit fault. That is the job of the authorities if they are present or the insurance company. You will simply ask the insurance company if the person is covered by the insurance company.

You may also want to take a picture of the other person if they are walking around acting fine. This can be beneficial if they try to later claim that they were so badly injured that they cannot move. Essentially you should use every picture on the camera. It may be the one picture that you do not take that may unlock the key detail to presenting your innocence to the insurance company. Anything that looks important to you should be photographed.

Paper and pen, this should be carried in your car anyway but this is essential to writing down important information regarding the accident. You will need the other drivers information, and contact information if they will give it to you. This is crucial for the insurance and police reports. You may also want to write down any important facts regarding the accident.

Being prepared for an accident can save you a significant amount of time and trouble if you plan accordingly. By taking a few minutes to photograph and take note of important details following an accident, you may show key details of your case.