Info -> What to do in the event of an accident
 

I've been seeing a few threads pop up lately about people getting into accidents and not knowing what to do or how to go about some things. Here are some things I've learned over the years, and if you have something to add or comment please do so and I'll add it to the first post!

1. CALL THE POLICE! -> As soon as you see some sort of damage do your car (more than a simple scratch) then you should call the police and file a police report. This will give you some HARD info for the insurance company and as well the pursuit of getting the damage fixed. If the person who damaged your car hit it and ran, then the police can check nearby cameras or you can go and ask shops around there. As well if you think it was a truck/company you can call them up with the report and they can see if the truck was within the vicinity!

2. Get more proof -> In this day an age if you are in an accident everyone and their mother will come after you to get money. The more proof you have the better and the famous line "pictures are worth a thousand words" will come to your rescue. Keep a cheap walmart/CVS/Walgreens DISPOSABLE FILM CAMERA in your glove-box.

Film cannot be altered and if the accident ever goes to court, a lawyer will not be able to contest the authenticity of your pictures. With digital photos, a simple alteration can be done in MS paint or Photoshop.

Take photos of the license plate of both cars and the driver of the other car! Take a photo of the sign of the intersection and a picture from far back to show the whole scene. Then take medium shots to show some moderate detail while retaining scale, and then close ups to show detail. If there are any skid marks try to take photos of them.

Also if the accident happens at night, take as many photos as you can, but take a few more in the day time! The views and perspective you can give in a day/night varies quite a bit! Even though you have moved the car it still will help in figuring out what happened, who was at fault and the extent of the damages to your car and person!

2A. Witnesses-> If someone pulls over to say they are a witness, the first thing you should do is get their contact information. Write it down on the back of your insurance card and then take a picture of it with your phone just to be sure you have it. Tell them that you have called the police and would like if they can stay to help the officer with the report! Also think about the witness logically! If they come back 10 minutes later, ask them what happened and why they turned around just to be sure it's not a friend of the other driver! Some folks are "sneaky" and may try to do this to screw you over!

3. Move the accident as LITTLE as possible! If you are in a rear end collision leave your cars in the lane and snap some quick photos and then move over. I'm not saying to block traffic here, but saying to get some proof of the incident before altering it!

4. Make sure to get the other drivers insurance and READ IT DIRECTLY OFF THE CARD. Do not trust what they tell you! As well get their driver license # just to be sure that you don't get screwed over. Usually police officers will write this on their report however sometimes lazy officers don't bother.

5. Do NOT be irate or angry or confrontational. If the other driver is angry or upset sit inside your car and wait for the police to come to calm the driver down. Being angry will only make things worse; Its easy to understand how precious your ride is (esp if you are on acurazine) and it hurts to see it damaged. However being angry can end up screwing things up!

6. Once you get all the information and such and the car is drivable, it's best to sit in your car for a bit, calm down and get yourself together and then drive straight home. If you are a bit shaken up have someone else drive you home. If your car is undriveable, have it towed to your local dealers body shop or a trusted shop of your choice and take a cab or rental home. Whatever you may do, NEVER have the car towed back to your house (if it's undriveable) and sit on it! Always have it towed to a shop so the insurance company will be charged for storage and you can get a rental car so you can go about your daily activities!

7. When you have a chance call up the other drivers insurance and your insurance company. Stick to the facts and no other random info and BE HONEST. If the other party's insurance asks you a question think carefully before responding otherwise you can mess yourself over. More than likely you will be the first to call up both companies, fax over the police report and ask if they need copies of any photos you took at the accident scene.

8. When you are on the phone ask about the process of getting your car repaired and what needs to be done. More than likely the company will ask you take the car to a dealer to get an estimate and sometimes a second estimate from another bodyshop. This helps cut the cost of a stupid inspector who can really mess up your claim vs. a shop that knows what exactly needs to be done on the car.



IMPORTANT: If you are injured and have ANY sort of pain DO NOT REFUSE MEDICAL ATTENTION!!! If you have even a darn nose-bleed get some medical attention. Screw the rest of these steps and get yourself checked out first! If you have the proper stuff on your insurance you don't need to worry. A car can be replaced easily but your life and well being cannot be fixed as easily a fender!


Also some safety tips that can help you in the event of a serious accident or even being pulled over!

1. Keep some emergency contact info, your registration, current insurance and any medical conditions you may have together in a zip-loc bag in your glove box! That way you will be prepared in the event something does happen! As well you won't loose your insurance card or registration!

2. Keep a "in case of emergency contact" on your cell phone, it may aid emergency responders help contact your family

3. Keep your insurance card (health insurance if you have it) on the same side of your wallet as your Drivers License. Always keep the health insurance card in front of any other cards in a credit card pocket inside your wallet. An EMS responder or someone at the hospital or a police officer will try to open your wallet to figure out who you are and for any info to help the situation. The more info that it can provide, the better!

4. Most states have an emergency contact system in place with your drivers license. Check out your state's DMV website and put in your info. For example here is florida's:
Florida -> https://www8.hsmv.state.fl.us/eci/

5. Keep a sheet of paper with any medical conditions in your wallet as well. If you are diabetic or have a heart condition or are allergic to medications, it is a good idea to tape this to the back of your insurance card or to put it on a bright sheet of paper near your license.


And with it all said and done, the best advice I have for you is to drive cautiously and to be aware of your surroundings. It's better to be 5 minutes late to a meeting than it is to never make it there :2cents:

good writeup.:thumbsup:

Excellent info. Hopefully no one will ever need it, but its inevitable.

For those who don't carry a film camera, don't be afraid to take plenty of digital shots even if it's just with your cell phone camera. Digital pics are still tons better than nothing. In the non CSI world a bunch of digital pics by a novice will be accepted in court. If the defense want's to claim they're altered they'll have to pay the pro's to confirm their suspicion, which will obviously fail since your pics haven't been altered. Cops use digital cameras for evidence all the time so there's plenty of legal precedent on the issue.

very nice info

Nice write-up. Good info for sure......

I did all of this stuff minus talking to the other driver because he was a complete douchebag and said "I would lose" when I got into my ONLY car accident that I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AT FAULT FOR.

Motherfucker cut me off and stomped on the brakes on the Brooklyn Bridge awhile ago. It was drizzling that day and I ran straight into his back bumper. I told him I was gonna call the cops and his reply was "You are gonna lose." Fucking fucking fucker this thread brings back memories that really piss me the fuck off.

And the cops are complete douchebag asshole motherfuckers who dont give two shits about your car accident and just want to go on with their shift. I explained my whole story to the cop and how the damage was to my passenger side only because he cut me off and stomped on his brakes. I was in the farthest left lane btw. The fucking police report said that I stopped short, THATS IT. My fucking insurance went up because of this and I was put "at fault" for this accident and that motherfucker got to milk $3800 out of his insurance, while I only got $2600. COMPARE THE FUCKING DAMAGE OMFG I AM SO FUCKING PISSED RIGHT NOW.


Sigh... sometimes doing the right thing isn't in your best interest. Thanks for pissing me off OP. Great motherfucking morning for me. /rant over

http://img37.picoodle.com/i23m/yvuru...3m_5fc4775.jpg
http://img38.picoodle.com/i23m/yvuru...ym_9b1259d.jpg
http://img40.picoodle.com/i23m/yvuru...4m_d621027.jpg

Great advice. :thumbsup: Learned a lot from that post.

Petition for this to be a sticky?

Good idea, I agree, it should be a sticky.

This should definitely be sticky. I've noticed a lot of people on here are incompetent when it comes to getting into an accident. This is a must read.

To supplement the OP, despite digital pictures being digital, take em along with your film camera.

Learned in HS photog class that film doesnt take so kindly towards heat. Dont rely 100% on those film pictures if that camera has been sitting in your glove box in the sun all summer (You can preserve your film by refrigerating it). It might be redundant but working in IT i've learned to CYA.

For the above post with the guy cutting you off and braking it'll be hard to prove w/o witnesses. Another reason why I want to mount a video recording device in my car.

to add to this: Do not admit guilt if you are /aren't at fault. Keep your mouth shut aside from " are you ok"

Stories like that reaffirm why I never let people in my lane if they don't have to be or if there's room behind me. Call me a dick, but you can wait. Sounds like that guy forced himself right in front of you though. Sorry to hear. On the bright side, at least your hood and headlight weren't damaged.

Thanks for sharing your story, and you are more then welcome for me ruining your morning. :thumbsup:

:spit:

which is why you give yourself space between you and the vehicle ahead. In case some a$$hole decides to cut you off.

Wrong, headlight cracked. Hood bent. Headlight still cracked it fogs up in the rain. Just bought a replacement one off ebay.

Where's the step where I cry like a baby about my car getting wrecked?

Sorry.

+1.

step 6 :tongue:

Too subtle. :thumbsup:

Very good info, sticky!!

sticky bump

nice wite up. Being responsible and organized can go a long way. most poeple think just getting the other people info is enough.... not in this day and age. all insurance compnaies are scumbags and dont care. DOCUMENTATION with REPRESENTATION

Subscibed. Thanks for the write up.

I actually pre printed the usual info that you need to exchange and keep it in my glove box, so in case I am rattled by the accident, I know exactly what i need to jot down.

I remember that thread when I just joined here.

Probably one of my first threads I've ever read on Acurazine =(

Good info OP!

Added some more info on night pictures and towing the car thanks to a BMW thread where a guy made those mistakes...

nice writeup, kinda missing the time where insurance company were actually working for you and give you what you freaking paid for without having to pry it out of their hand. Digital photos will do plenty, it's rather easy to proove they are authentic and it's the opposing party that have to prove they are not. Unless the picture mods been done by a pro it will be easy to see where the mods have been done and they will be discarded and play a big role against whoevers party modded them since their whole story goes straight in the lies column :tomato:. If your camera can print date and time on photos it can be quite usefull as well. Just make sure your time/date is somewhat accurate.

I like your idea of carrying a film camera instead of a digital camera, i never thought that people would contest against a picture of an accident.

thanks for the information, as an international student this helps a lot

a lot of this is common sense but good info nonetheless :thumbsup:

ive been in about 8 car accidents in my life, major and minor and none were my fault. all were me being rear ended. heres one i can share:

Back in June 09, i was driving my old RDX home from a friends house one night around 11pm on a divided highway with speed limit 55, but most people do 70 and above. Came up to a red light and completely stopped. There were cars in front of me and in the lane to the right. There was a small shoulder and guard rail on my left. Basically, I was boxed in. Usually thats not a problem but I noticed headlights coming very fast towards me in my rear view mirror. I glanced back at the road. I glanced back in the mirror. Still coming very fast. Now my heart is racing. I glance back in the mirror and the car is not showing any signs of stopping. There's nothing I can do. I stomp my foot on the brake, and shove my head back into the headrest and keep a firm grip on the steering wheel...then I think I closed my eyes. This is all happening in mere seconds. I could not get around the other cars around me. Well, maybe I could've but there was no time.

Anyways, BAM CRUNCH SQUEAL. I open my eyes and the guy in the car in front of me is getting out and walking towards me. I take a few seconds to relax and then get out. I first go to the front and check for damage, but there is none :confused: I didnt hit the person in from somehow. He asked if I was ok and then we both walked to the back of my car. I was expecting mayhem. But when I got there, all I could see was a few scratches (more :confused: )

I looked at the car that hit me, an older Volvo XC70, and it was totaled. The front smashed in and airbags blown. Turns out the girl fell asleep at the wheel. Her car wasn't moving, so I got the flare that I keep in the emergency kit in all my cars and set it up a little bit down the road until the police got there. With people doing 75mph, someone else could have come and hit the Volvo.


The next day I took some pics.
https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=29539

https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=29540

https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=29541

$5000 in damage :what: doesnt look like it right? Thank god for insurance, and thank god for the RDX being built like a tank.

Oh yeah, so my post stays on topic, it is good to keep a flare in the car for night time accidents :thumbsup:

wish i read this sooner. got into my first accident on Wednesday. wasnt my fault but i am having a hard time with the lady's insurance.

Added more info on emergency contact and medical info.

Very informative thanks

As a Texas cop, I can tell you don't call the cops(if Texas resident) unless your vehicle isn't driveable and there is an injured party. There's nothing I can do except make sure both parties have a DL and current proof of insurance.

I don't know how other states handle accidents.

great info, i have been lucky enough to never have been in one so i didn't really know the best way to go about it.

lol damm, that sux. As long as u hit the dude infront of u it's still your fault. I hate how it works but thats how they have it. Me in your case i would've had let it go

Any wrecked car sucks

been there and hopefully it wont happen again....