Five Steps To Take After a Car Crash:
Before taking any other steps, you should make sure that everyone is uninjured. If anyone is hurt, call for medical help immediately.
If your vehicle can be moved, it’s best to move it to the side of the road. You can then set up flares or emergency triangles if it’s safe to do so. Once this is complete, call the police. They will either send an officer to meet you at the scene or tell you that you can file a police report at a later time.
The next step is to document the accident. If the police are sending an officer to the scene, you can do this documentation while you wait. If no officer is coming, you should take extra care to document everything. Take pictures of the vehicles involved in the accident, and make sure to take the pictures from multiple angles. You should also get detailed photos of visible damage. In addition to photographing the scene, you should write down the location where the accident happened, details about the vehicles (including make, model, and license plate numbers), and the day and time it happened. Talk to the other drivers to get their contact information and insurance information, as well as their driver’s license number and VIN. Avoid small talk, and do not apologize.
If the damage to your vehicle is enough that repairing it would be more expensive than your deductible, you should file an insurance claim. If the vehicle seems to have only minor damage, you may want to consider paying out of pocket.
