Things You Won’t Have Thought About When Involved In A Road Traffic Accident But Should
It is one of those things that can blind side you on an unexpected afternoon. You could be driving along, minding your own business and then all of a sudden you are involved in a car accident. It might have been your fault, it might have been something you were not expecting, and in some cases, you may have just witnessed it when you were minding your own business. However, there are things that you might need to think about if you find yourself in this situation, and some of them you may not have thought about. With that in mind, here are some of those things to help you if you find yourself in that situation.
Image source – pixabay – cco license
As the driver
There are many responsibilities you have as a driver if you have been involved in an accident. This applies whether it was your fault or not. Some of them may be obvious, but some of them are things you probably won’t think to do at the time. This is likely because of shock or how you are feeling at the time. As a driver, you will need to pull over where it is safe to do so, and you will want to try and capture as much evidence as possible. This is especially important if it isn’t your fault. You can capture evidence by using your smartphone camera and taking pictures or videos. Another thing you could do is capture witness details. This will help if you are looking to make a claim.
There are certain people you will need to contact if this happens to you. Yoru insurance company will be able to handle repairs for you. If it isn’t your fault you may likely not have to pay for anything, but if it is then you may have to accept that there could be an excess charge that you may have applied to your insurance. It might also be worth checking something like the chp incident page to ensure that the incident is recorded properly. Last of all, you might want some legal advice on what you can do if you need to make a claim.
As the witness
There are two situations where you might be a witness to a road traffic accident. You may be involved in some way by being a passenger in the vehicle that was at fault or on the receiving end. Or you may have been walking past and seen it happen. Your role is vital throughout as you can recall the events, and perhaps details that may be missed by involved drivers. This will help insurance claims and also any legal professional where someone is trying to make a claim. As a witness you will likely give your contact details to the drivers so that in some cases the insurance company can contact you. It might also be the case where you will need to capture some evidence as well. Again you can take pictures from a different perspective and this could prove very useful.
Let’s hope this helps you if you find you are involved in a road traffic accident.
