What to do (steps) when involve in a car accident?

Brown Pit named Blue

Call the police to get a report on file. That proves there was an accident in case the othe person does not cooperate with their insurance company.

Get the person's driver's license. Copy their name, address, date of birth, driver's license number. Ask for their phone number

Get their registration. Copy the vehicle owner's name (if different from the driver), the year make and model, & VIN of the car. Also get the license plate number.

Get their insurance card. Copy the insurance company name & policy number. Copy the phone number if it's a company you've never heard of.

Get your throw away camera out of the car. (You have one right?) Take pictures of the accident scene, the damage to your vehicle and the damage to the other vehicle.

Get witnesses. Ask for their name & phone number. You never know when you'll need a witness.

Hopefully you never have an accident but it's good that you are getting prepared.

American Girl

1: call the police. So many people get talked out of doing this, only to get burned in the long run. The police can document everything; this can be crucial when filing a claim. No matter how nice a person looks, you can't be sure they will pay for you damages... get the law involved to protect your best interests.

#2: document witnesses, take pictures before cars are moved, take pictures of obstructions, etc.; anything that may have played a part in the accident & be gone or different by the time the cops get there.

George A

Both posters forgot one major item that should be done before anything else is done-
ASSESS FOR INJURIES

Yes, you need to get the other person's information & get the police out there to initiate an accident report, but you need to make sure that no one involved in the accident needs urgent medical attention. You will have much bigger problems if someone is bleeding profusely & all the drivers are concerned with is exchanging their insurance information.

The AAA has information online (and your insurance agent should be able to give you that same)- that you can download checklists to keep in your vehicle to use in the event of an accident.

That way, all you need to do is look down the checklist, doing everything in order so you don't forget to do something and you can;t be held accountable for failing to do something you should have done.

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