What to do when you are involved in a car accident

Accidents happen and when they do, we often go into panic mode and try remember what we need to do, what documents we need and what information is needed?

So we have made a checklist of what you
should do in an accident.

1.            Make sure you and your fellow passengers are not injured. If no one is injured, make sure everyone gets out of the vehicle when it is safe to do so.

2.            If there are any injuries, call an ambulance and the police. Remember some
injuries are not immediate so calling an ambulance to assess everyone is the
safest option.

3.            Remember, that you have to stop your car if in an accident and people are injured, killed or if any property has been damaged.

4.            If the damage caused is substantial, you should not move the vehicles unless they are obstructing traffic.

5.            Once you have established that there are no major injuries, we suggest that photos are taken of the scene (ensuring that it is safe to do so), before moving vehicles and what the damages are of all the vehicles.

6.            Take down the following information from the other drivers involved in the accident.

1.            Full names and Surnames;

2.            ID numbers;

3.            All phone numbers, home, work and cell;

4.            Physical addresses;

5.            Email addresses;

6.            Vehicle registration;

7.            Description of the vehicles, including make, model and colour;

8.            Time and place of accident;

9.            What the weather, visibility and road conditions were at the time of the accident;

10.          Record any unusual activity that occurred before and after;

11.          Make sure to take a photo of the other drivers licence disk as well as the front and reverse side of the other drivers licence itself;

12.         If there are any witnesses take down their details.

7.            If one of the vehicles is a company vehicle, also take down the employers details, this would be useful if there is a vicarious liability claim against the employer.

1.            A vicarious liability claim is if the employee was acting within the scope and course of his employment.

8.            Report the accident to the police within 24 hours of the accident occurring, if you are unable to because you were injured, then you would report accident as soon as possible and explain why you were unable to.

9.            Once the accident has been reported the police will give you a AR number (Accident report) which you will then submit along with your insurance claim.

10.          Never admit liability, remember it was an accident, by admitting liability this could affect your insurance from paying out.

Schwenn Inc. keeping you in the know, for any other information kindly contact Charmaine Schwenn on 031 – 003 0630 or email [email protected]

Written by Barry Todd.

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Charmaine Schwenn

AttorneySchwenn Incorporated Attorneys & ConveyancersOver the last two decades, Charmaine has grown a loyal following of clients. As a former partner at Tate, Nolan and Knight Inc., Charmaine has worked with clients across a diverse spectrum of industries and needs.