21/01/2014
No one ever wants to be involved in a car accident, whether as a participant or as a witness. However, knowing what to do in such an event will go a long way in helping you to ensure both safety and the correct legal proceedings.
If you’re involved in an accident
First of all, you need to stop and switch your hazard lights on. Immediately, check to see if everyone is alright. This includes yourself, your passengers, occupants in the other car(s), as
If you are able to offer assistance to anyone injured, then do so. Just be careful not to move anyone who may have suffered neck injury.
In the case of injury, don’t move the vehicles until the police say it is alright to do so. However, if the flow of traffic is seriously hindered, you can move the vehicles out of the way enough to allow motorists to pass. So long as you mark the vehicles’ positions.
If your vehicle needs to be towed to a panel be**er, contact your insurer and be guided by them as to who to call to do the recovery and where to take the vehicle. Always obtain a reference number.
Even if no one was seriously injured, it doesn’t mean all involved simply drive off and go on their merry way. There are still the legal, practical and technical matters to take care of.
After you have pulled off and made sure everyone is indeed alright, survey the extent of the damage. Watch out for broken glass and leaking fuel.
You will then need information from all parties concerned. This includes:
full names,
ID numbers,
addresses,
contact details,
vehicle registration numbers,
description of the vehicles involved (including make, model and year),
time and date,
and the details of police officers, ambulance staff, traffic officers and tow truck drivers.
If no one was injured, police don’t need to be called to the scene of the crime. However, the matter still needs to be reported to the police. That needs to be done within 24 hours. If you are unable to report the matter within that period due to injury, go to the police as soon as you can, where you can explain the delay. You will be asked to fill out a form, give the details you took at the scene, and describe the incident. The police will then give you a docket number. This is what you use when you contact your motor insurance.
If you witness an accident
While it may seem preferable to be a bystander to an accident, rather than someone actually involved, being a witness can still be a stressful responsibility. Especially if the accident was serious and there aren’t too many other witnesses about.
If you’re driving, pull off into a safe area out the way and put on your hazard lights. As already mentioned, the emergency number to call is 084 124.
Don’t just assume that someone else will take care of calling an ambulance. For all you know, all other witnesses will be thinking the same thing, won’t know who to call, won’t want to get involved, or are frozen to the spot and doesn’t know what to do. The diffusion of responsibility is something that sometimes happens in situations like this – the more people there are, the likely someone is to actually act. If you have the presence of mind to act – do so. Every minute counts in situations like these.
If you can help anyone injured, do so.
Whether it's a minor bumper bashing or a major collision, knowing what to do at the scene of a vehicle accident and who to call can make the experience a little less frightening, help the claims process run more smoothly, and maybe even save a life.
